Booking Holdings Takes $900 Million Hit Over FTC Probe of Priceline as Travel Bookings Climb 10%

Key figures: FTC-related revenue reduction $900 million · Reported revenue $8.9 billion (−1%) · Gross bookings $54.5 billion (+10%) · Q4 room-night growth guidance 1%–3%

Booking Holdings cut its third-quarter revenue by $900 million to cover a likely settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its Priceline unit, pushing reported revenue down 1% to $8.89 billion even as travelers booked 10% more trips by value. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based parent of Booking.com, Priceline, Kayak and OpenTable disclosed the charge in its earnings release and quarterly report to the SEC after the market closed on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

What the FTC matter involves

According to the 10-Q, FTC staff told Priceline in July 2026 that they intended to recommend the agency file a complaint against Priceline and a business-to-business affiliate partner, asserting “unfair or deceptive business practices related to disclosures, fees, customer support, and billing practices.” Priceline is in talks with the FTC to resolve the matter, the filing says, and no settlement has been agreed. Litigation remains possible.

The company said a negotiated resolution would likely include a payment to the FTC, monetary restitution to certain U.S. consumers and changes to Priceline’s business practices. Besides the $900 million revenue reduction, it accrued a $100 million loss in general and administrative expenses. The filing warns that the FTC may seek penalties and restitution above those amounts. Booking excluded both items from its adjusted results.

By the numbers: demand held up

Underneath the charge, the quarter was solid. Room nights rose 6.7% to 345 million, an acceleration from 5.3% growth in the second quarter and 5.9% in the first. Gross bookings, the value of travel booked net of cancellations, rose 10% to $54.5 billion, or about 11% in constant currency. Flight tickets jumped 19.4% to 21 million, while rental car days slipped 0.7% to 23 million, according to the 10-Q.

Adjusted revenue, which excludes the FTC reduction, rose 9% to $9.8 billion. GAAP net income fell 1% to $2.7 billion, but GAAP earnings per share rose 7% to $3.61 as the share count shrank. Adjusted EPS rose 17% to $4.66 and adjusted EBITDA rose 9% to $4.6 billion, with the adjusted EBITDA margin flat at 47.0%. Per-share figures reflect a 25-for-1 stock split the company carried out on April 2.

The $900 million reduction equals about 9% of adjusted revenue for the quarter, by TBR’s calculation, or about 1.7% of the $54.5 billion in gross bookings.

A sharp slowdown expected in the fourth quarter

The outlook is weaker. Booking forecast fourth-quarter room-night growth of just 1% to 3%, which would be its slowest in at least the nine quarters shown in its release, and gross bookings growth of 2% to 4%. It expects adjusted EBITDA to be about flat. For the full year, it still projects high-single-digit growth in gross bookings, adjusted revenue and adjusted EBITDA, and low- to mid-teens growth in adjusted EPS.

The company said demand moderated toward the end of the third quarter on softer international travel. In October, it cited disruptions to travel to and from the Middle East, higher airfares tied to the conflict, and localized unrest in some European cities. Its guidance assumes those effects last through year-end. “While geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty may affect near-term travel trends, we remain focused on making travel easier,” Chief Executive Glenn Fogel said in the release.

Investors look past the charge

Booking also repurchased $2.1 billion of stock in the quarter, leaving $12.4 billion of authorization, and declared a dividend of 42 cents a share payable Dec. 31. Its shares jumped 11% in midday trading Wednesday, and Expedia rose 13%, CNBC reported, as consumer stocks rallied on a day when markets were also digesting the midterm election results. The travel industry has faced other recent pressure, including the Amadeus breach that exposed airline passenger data. For more on Wall Street and household travel budgets, see our U.S. economy tracker.

Sources

• Booking Holdings, “Booking Holdings Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results,” Nov. 3, 2026 (PDF)
• Booking Holdings, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• CNBC, “Stocks making the biggest moves midday,” Nov. 4, 2026

Additional sources

• PhocusWire, “Booking Holdings puts numbers behind AI assistant performance,” Nov. 2026
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Booking Holdings filings on EDGAR