Online Travel Giant Reports 62 Trillion Won in Quarterly Reservations, Announces Major Share Buyback and Stock Split

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) reported $43.0 billion in gross bookings for the fourth quarter of 2025—approximately ₩62 trillion—a 16% year-over-year increase. Revenue rose 16% to $6.3 billion (approximately ₩9 trillion). With room nights up 9%, adjusted EBITDA improved to $2.2 billion, yielding margins in the mid-30% range.

For full-year 2025, gross bookings totaled $186.1 billion (approximately ₩270 trillion) and revenue reached $26.9 billion (approximately ₩39 trillion), sustaining double-digit growth. Net profit margins declined to 20.1%, while adjusted EBITDA margins expanded to 36.9%. The company plans to continue investing in medium- to long-term growth through a transformation program targeting $550 million in annual cost savings and by leveraging generative AI.

The board also announced a 25-for-1 common stock split effective April 2, 2026; a quarterly dividend of $10.50 per share, payable March 31 to shareholders of record as of March 6; and a $2.1 billion share repurchase program for Q4 2025. Separate filings disclosed that director Robert J. Mylod Jr. sold a small stake on February 2 under a pre-established 10b5-1 trading plan, while still retaining significant indirect holdings.

The planned stock split, confirmed alongside the earnings release, is seen as a catalyst to increase float and improve retail investor access. Some institutional investors reduced their stakes materially in the prior quarter, and the share price has experienced volatility, undergoing a modest correction over the past month around the earnings announcement.

Booking Holdings is one of the world’s largest online travel platforms. Through major brands—including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Kayak and OpenTable—it offers lodging, flights, car rentals and restaurant reservations across more than 220 countries and territories.

In this economically sensitive sector, marketing efficiency, returns on technology investments and regulatory developments have emerged as key drivers of performance and valuation, amid intensifying competition from Google’s search- and AI-based travel offerings and rivals such as Airbnb and Expedia.