Booking Holdings vs Turo

Booking Holdings to Webcast Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results on November 3

Booking Holdings announced it will webcast its third quarter 2026 financial results on November 3, 2026.

10-Q Financial Filing Analysis for Booking Holdings (2026-08-04)

Booking Holdings reported solid financial performance for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, with total revenues rising 8.1% year-over-year to $7.35 billion, up from $6.80 billion in Q2 2025. Growth was anchored by a 15.0% expansion in merchant revenues to $5.13 billion, driven by Booking.com's ongoing strategic transition toward merchant models and Connected Trip offerings. Operating income expanded 11.1% to $2.50 billion, while net income surged to $1.95 billion ($2.53 per diluted share) from $895 million ($1.10 per diluted share) in the prior-year period, supported by lower net non-operating expenses and foreign currency remeasurement gains. Total gross bookings reached $50.96 billion (+9.0% YoY), reflecting 325 million room nights booked (+5.3% YoY).

• Q2 2026 total revenues rose 8.1% YoY to $7.35 billion, driven by a 14.5% increase in merchant gross bookings to $37.00 billion and 5.3% growth in room nights booked to 325 million.
• Operating income increased 11.1% YoY to $2.50 billion with an operating margin of 34.0%, while net income reached $1.95 billion ($2.53 diluted EPS).
• Active capital return continued with $3.79 billion spent on common stock repurchases during Q2 2026, leaving $14.5 billion in remaining repurchase authorization.

Booking Holdings Stock Is Not an AI Victim, Data Shows

Despite fears that AI chatbots would disrupt online travel agencies, Booking Holdings' stock is trading at a discount. The company continues to meet growth targets, with LLM traffic accounting for under 1% of room nights. Direct bookings are growing, and its payments and supply moat are defensible. The Q3 goodwill impairment at Kayak is cited, but the core business remains strong. Valuation at 15.3x forward earnings vs. 22.3x historical average suggests upside. The article argues the AI threat is overblown, as AI agents often hand off checkout to Booking.

• Booking Holdings trades at 15.3 times forward earnings vs. 10-year average of 22.3 times.
• Traffic from large language models remains below 1% of Booking's room nights.
• Booking recorded a $457 million goodwill impairment at Kayak due to rising customer acquisition costs.

Kustomer Launches Conversation Intelligence and AI QA

Kustomer, the AI-native customer experience platform, has launched Conversation Intelligence and AI QA, two new native capabilities built on top of AI Attributes. These tools transform unstructured customer conversations into structured, actionable insights, moving beyond sample-based analysis to provide full visibility into every conversation. Conversation Intelligence uses Classifiers, Scores, and Extractors to evaluate conversations, while AI QA scores each conversation against business-defined criteria with adjustable weights and auto-fail logic. The features aim to improve customer retention, reduce operational costs, and help CX leaders prove team impact with data. Both capabilities are available now, aligning with Kustomer's broader 'ROI of CX' initiative.

• Kustomer announced the launch of Conversation Intelligence and AI QA.
• The capabilities are built on top of AI Attributes.
• Conversation Intelligence uses Classifiers, Scores, and Extractors.