Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

The quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends in the company's revenue streams, expenses, and profitability over the analyzed periods.

Revenue Trends

Overall revenues exhibit significant volatility with an upward trajectory from early 2020 through the end of 2025. Total revenues fell drastically in the second quarter of 2020, reflecting the initial impact of external disruptions on the business.

Merchant revenues show a fluctuating but overall increasing pattern, with values rising from 245 million in June 2020 to peaks above 6000 million by the final quarters of the data. Agency revenues similarly demonstrate strong growth after a dip in mid-2020, generally increasing towards nearly 3000 million in later periods.

Advertising and other revenues remain the most stable category, with a slow but steady increase from under 30 million in early 2020 to over 300 million by late 2025.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses have consistently increased over the observed timeline, from approximately 1,114 million in mid-2020 to over 5,500 million by late 2025. Marketing expenses represent the largest component, demonstrating a sharp increase, especially after 2020, with periodic fluctuations but an overall upward trend peaking near 2,300 million by the end of the period.

Sales and other expenses, personnel costs including stock-based compensation, general and administrative, IT, and depreciation/amortization expenses have also trended upward, though with less volatility than marketing expenses. Personnel expenses show periodic increases, particularly marked in late 2023.

Impairment charges appear sporadically, with notable values in early 2020 and late 2025. Transformation costs and restructuring expenses are minor but notable in the later periods, suggesting ongoing organizational changes or cost management efforts.

Profitability and Income

Operating income exhibits wide fluctuations with considerable losses in early 2020, followed by substantial gains in later quarters, especially from late 2021 onward. Notably, operating income reaches multiples of initial losses, signifying recovery and improved operational efficiency or revenue growth.

Interest expenses have generally risen over time, reaching high levels in mid-2025. Simultaneously, interest and dividend income only appear in later periods in moderate amounts, partially offsetting interest expenses.

Other income and expenses show considerable volatility, with some large positive and negative swings, indicating irregular gains or losses possibly related to non-core activities or one-time items.

Income before taxes follows a trend similar to operating income, with early losses turning into strong positive results from late 2021 onward, peaking near the end of the dataset.

Income tax expenses fluctuate, sometimes negative (indicating benefits), and other times significant expenses, contributing to variability in net income.

Net income aligns with operating and pre-tax income trends, showing losses in early 2020, a recovery phase in 2021, and strong profitability by the later years, with notable quarterly net income peaks exceeding 2,700 million.

Summary Insights

The data reflects a company strongly impacted in early 2020 by an adverse event but undergoing robust recovery marked by substantial revenue growth, especially in merchant and agency segments. Operating expenses expand in line with the revenue scale-up, particularly marketing and personnel costs. Profitability returns strongly, with operating and net income transitioning from losses to significant profits.

Volatility in other income and expenses, along with periodic impairment and restructuring charges, suggest ongoing adjustments and strategic transformations. Rising interest expenses point to increased leverage or financing costs, partially offset by interest income in recent periods.

Overall, the financial data indicates a turnaround from a challenging start, progressing into a phase of expansion and improved operational performance, underpinned by increasing scale and effective cost management over time.