Expedia Group, Inc.

What they do

Expedia Group operates a global travel marketplace, connecting travelers with lodging, air, car rental, cruise, and activities inventory through its apps, websites, and call centers. It runs three flagship consumer brands—Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo—and a B2B travel business that supplies travel products and technology to partners. The company also offers advertising and media solutions to travel and non-travel advertisers.

Revenue drivers

• Lodging (including Vrbo) — Lodging gross bookings grew 11% year-over-year in Q2 2026; platform had approximately 3.6 million lodging properties at end of 2025, including ~2.4 million Vrbo alternative accommodations.
• B2B travel business — B2B gross bookings grew 21% in Q2 2026 and revenue grew 23%, outpacing B2C; management describes it as the largest B2B travel business at the company.
• B2C consumer brands — B2C gross bookings grew 8% in Q2 2026; includes Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo consumer bookings.
• Advertising and media — Sells travel and non-travel advertisers access to its multi-platform audience; no specific revenue figure provided in the filings.

Recent performance

For Q2 2026 (quarter ended June 30, 2026), revenue grew 14% year-over-year to $4.315 billion, and gross bookings grew 12% to $33.9 billion. Net income attributable to Expedia Group was $878 million, up 166% from $330 million in Q2 2025; diluted EPS was $7.16 versus $2.48. Adjusted EBITDA increased 23% to $1.119 billion, with margin expanding 196 basis points. Booked room nights grew 6% to 111.5 million. For full-year 2025, revenue was $14.73 billion, net income $1.30 billion, and diluted EPS $9.81.

Strategy

Management is focused on a platform operating model to reduce complexity and improve efficiency, including unified marketing and technology stacks. They launched One Key, a unified loyalty program across Brand Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, expanding from the U.S. to the UK and migrating most Expedia Rewards members in 2025. They are investing in AI and machine learning to personalize products and improve operational efficiency, and continue to expand B2B supply. They also introduced general managers for each core consumer brand to sharpen brand value propositions and accountability.

Risks

• Intense competition — Expedia competes with OTAs like Booking.com, alternative accommodation providers like Airbnb, metasearch companies, direct supplier channels, and AI-powered assistants, with some competitors having greater financial resources or data.
• Macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures — Weaker U.S. travel demand in early 2025 and events in the Middle East and Mexico in Q1 2026 and continued Europe headwinds in Q2 2026 could reduce demand if intensified.
• Tax audits and digital services taxes — Increasingly aggressive tax authority interpretations and new taxes like digital services taxes could require significant 'pay-to-play' prepayments or litigation losses that hurt liquidity.
• Dependence on third-party platforms — Search engines, particularly Google, can prioritize their own travel products in results, potentially disintermediating Expedia's platform and reducing traffic.

Outlook

For Q3 2026, management guides gross bookings of $32.2–$32.8 billion (+5–7% y/y) and revenue of $4.65–$4.75 billion (+5–8%). For full-year 2026, they raised guidance to gross bookings of $129.5–$130.8 billion (+8–9%) and revenue of $16.05–$16.22 billion (+9–10%), with adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 1.5–1.75 points. Management highlighted that they exceeded the high end of Q2 guidance and expressed confidence in their strategy.