Booking Holdings (BKNG) Q3 2026 earnings: room night growth hits 6.7%

Booking Holdings (BKNG) reported third-quarter 2026 results on November 3, 2026, through an 8-K press release, its 10-Q and an earnings call, and room night growth accelerated to 6.7%, ahead of guidance [1]. Demand and profit for the quarter ended September 30 beat the company's earlier outlook, but its fourth-quarter guidance points to slower growth [1]. Three questions mattered going into the report: whether room nights could hold the 3%-5% guidance after the Middle East conflict hit long-haul travel [2]; whether revenue could keep pace with gross bookings as the merchant model expanded; and whether lost free search traffic and AI channels were raising marketing costs.

The quarter answered the first question clearly. Room nights grew 6.7%, which shows that second-quarter resilience was not a one-off. Revenue grew slightly slower than bookings and the marketing ratio rose a little, but both stayed within the earlier range of expectations [1][3]. A regulatory charge at Priceline, however, pushed reported revenue down, and the company guided to slower fourth-quarter growth.

Booking Holdings runs the world's largest online travel platform, with Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable, and about 90% of its revenue relates to online accommodation reservations [3]. The company earns commissions on revenue from hotels, alternative accommodations and airlines; it records gross bookings when a traveler books and recognizes revenue when the traveler checks in [4].

Room night growth accelerated as international travel improved

Third-quarter room night growth beat both the second quarter and the guidance the company gave in August. Room nights reached 345 million, up 6.7% year over year, compared with 5.3% in the second quarter and guidance of 3%-5% [1][2]. The 10-Q attributes the acceleration to better international travel by travelers from Europe and Asia; domestic room nights grew at a high-single-digit rate and international room nights at a mid-single-digit rate [3][5]. The company said the direct effects of the conflict had largely normalized, while elevated airfares still weighed on long-haul international travel [3].

Prices and flights also supported gross bookings. Constant-currency average daily rates rose about 3%. Flight tickets grew 19.4%, up from 3.7% in the second quarter, partly because the company expanded its flight offering, so the rebound cannot be read entirely as recovering long-haul demand [1][3]. Gross bookings totaled $54.461 billion, up 9.6% [1].

Revenue and profit also came in above guidance. Excluding the regulatory matter described below, Adjusted Revenue was $9.793 billion, up 8.7%, or about 10% in constant currency, above the earlier revenue guidance of 4%-6% [1][2]. Adjusted EBITDA was $4.607 billion, up 9%, with a 47.0% margin, flat with a year earlier [1].

The FTC matter pushed reported revenue lower

GAAP total revenue was $8.893 billion, down 1.3% year over year, because of a regulatory charge at Priceline [1]. In July, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff told Priceline they intended to recommend that the FTC file a complaint against Priceline and one of its business-to-business affiliate partners over disclosures, fees, customer support and billing practices; the company recorded a $900 million reduction in revenue and accrued a $100 million loss in general and administrative expenses [3]. No settlement has been reached, the FTC may seek more, and Priceline may need to change some practices [3]. The matter does not affect gross bookings or room nights. With the charge included, operating income was $3.418 billion, below $3.483 billion a year earlier, and the liability has not yet been paid [1][3].

Take rate and marketing costs were broadly stable

The shift to the merchant model continued, and revenue still grew slightly slower than gross bookings. Merchant gross bookings were 75% of the total, up from 72% a year earlier. Adjusted Revenue growth trailed gross bookings growth by 0.9 percentage points, and the company said Adjusted Revenue as a share of gross bookings was about 15 basis points lower because of a higher mix of flights and the timing of bookings versus travel [3][5]. Over the trailing twelve months, incremental payment revenue still exceeded the associated incremental costs [3].

Marketing efficiency slipped slightly, mainly because of the B2B channel. Marketing expense was 4.8% of gross bookings, versus 4.7% a year earlier; the company attributed the increase to faster growth in B2B affiliate commissions and lower SEO traffic, while the marketing ratio in its business-to-consumer (B2C) business fell year over year [1][3]. Large language model referrals still account for significantly less than 1% of room nights, and this report does not show AI channels raising customer acquisition costs [5].

Conclusion

The quarter confirmed that accommodation demand held up after the conflict and that profit conversion stayed stable, but the improvement looks less durable. The company said international demand softened toward the end of the third quarter and that October was hit by Middle East travel disruptions, high airfares and localized unrest in parts of Europe. For the fourth quarter it guided to room night growth of 1%-3%, Adjusted Revenue growth of 0%-2% (2%-4% in constant currency) and roughly flat Adjusted EBITDA, while keeping full-year growth at a high-single-digit rate [1]. Third-quarter free cash flow was $1.069 billion, down 22% year over year, because of a $3.6 billion seasonal unwind of deferred merchant bookings [1][5]. The next report tests whether room nights can hold 1%-3% growth against a tough comparison, whether the marketing ratio can stay flat as investment rises, and whether the FTC settlement exceeds the $1 billion already accrued.

Sources

• [1] BKNG Q3 2026 8-K filed 2026-11-03 Exhibit 99.1
• [2] BKNG 8-K filed 2026-08-04 · Q3 and FY2026 guidance
• [3] BKNG 10-Q filed 2026-11-03
• [4] BKNG 10-K filed 2026-02-18 · business model and revenue types
• [5] BKNG Q3 2026 earnings call 2026-11-03