Booking Holdings (BKNG): analysis in plain words
Is Booking Holdings cheap or expensive? How it makes money, whether it grows and its risks, explained in plain words and with its official accounts.
Booking Holdings (BKNG) is listed on the Nasdaq and we classify it in travel, leisure and gaming. Below are its key dated figures, how it makes money, how it compares with its sector, what works for and against Booking Holdings according to those figures, and the questions people ask most about the stock. No buy or sell tips.
Booking Holdings (BKNG) key figures as of November 4, 2026
| Figure | Value | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $170.97 | Last price on November 4, 2026 |
| P/E ratio (TTM) | 19.0x | Price over earnings per share |
| Revenue growth | +8.1% | Latest quarter vs the same quarter a year earlier |
| Net margin (TTM) | 25.5% | Profit for every 100 of sales |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | Years of operating profit to repay debt |
| Dividend yield | 1.08% | Annual dividend over price |
| Market cap | $128.5 billion | What the stock market values it at |
The Booking Holdings figures come from Yahoo Finance, the same source the Fintols analysis uses, retrieved on November 4, 2026. Any BKNG figure that is not available shows as N/A: we do not estimate it.
How Booking Holdings makes money
Booking Holdings earns commissions on hotel, rental home, flight and car bookings through its brands: Booking.com, by far the biggest, plus Priceline, Agoda, Kayak and OpenTable. It splits revenue into agency, where the property collects payment, merchant, where Booking collects it, and advertising and other revenue.
Over the last 12 months, Booking Holdings brought in revenue of $28.2 billion. For every 100 it sells, Booking Holdings keeps 87.2 after the direct cost of what it sells (gross margin) and 34.4 after all operating costs (operating margin).
Booking Holdings against its sector
To know whether a Booking Holdings figure is high or low you have to put it next to similar companies. This table compares Booking Holdings with the median of the 13 travel, leisure and gaming companies Fintols covers, with data as of November 4, 2026.
| Figure | Booking Holdings | travel, leisure and gaming median |
|---|---|---|
| P/E | 19.0x | 17.8x (13) |
| Revenue growth | +8.1% | +8.8% (14) |
| Net margin | 25.5% | 11.6% (14) |
| Dividend yield | 1.08% | 1.31% (14) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | 2.8x (14) |
In short, against the typical travel, leisure and gaming company, Booking Holdings earns a wider margin, pays a lower dividend yield and carries less debt. By size, Booking Holdings ranks number 1 of 11 travel, leisure and gaming companies quoted in USD on Fintols.
The bull case for Booking Holdings
What works in favour of Booking Holdings, according to its figures as of November 4, 2026:
- Booking Holdings keeps 25.5 of every 100 it sells as net profit, against 11.6 for the median travel, leisure and gaming company: a margin like that leaves money to invest, buy back shares or pay dividends.
- Analysts expect Booking Holdings earnings to rise: its P/E on the next 12 months of estimated earnings is 13.8x, below the current 19.0x.
- Booking Holdings generates real cash: $7.7 billion of free cash flow over 12 months, 6.0% of its stock market value.
The main risk for Booking Holdings
The Booking Holdings figures as of November 4, 2026 show no clear red flag (no heavy debt, no losses, no falling sales). Its main risk is the one built into its business: people travelling and spending less on leisure if the economy worsens, plus fuel prices.
Frequently asked questions about Booking Holdings
Is it a good time to buy Booking Holdings stock?
Fintols does not tell you whether to buy or sell Booking Holdings, and nobody knows what the price will do tomorrow. What we can show you is where it stands today. As of November 4, 2026, Booking Holdings stock trades at $170.97, 23% below its 52-week high ($220.81) and 17% above its low ($146.28). Its P/E is 19.0x against a travel, leisure and gaming median of 17.8x, and 13.8x on the earnings analysts expect over the next 12 months. With Booking Holdings, as with any stock, timing matters less than understanding the business, investing for the long run and not betting everything on a single company.
Does Booking Holdings pay a dividend?
Yes. As of November 4, 2026, Booking Holdings pays $1.68 per share a year, which at today's price is a yield of 1.08%. It uses 18% of its profit to pay it, which leaves room to keep paying it if profit dips.
Is Booking Holdings stock expensive?
It depends on what you compare it with. On P/E, Booking Holdings trades at 19.0x its last 12 months of earnings: in line with the travel, leisure and gaming median (17.8x). A high P/E alone does not make Booking Holdings expensive: it can be justified if earnings grow fast, and a low one can reflect a business in trouble.
Who are Booking Holdings's competitors?
On Fintols we compare Booking Holdings with Airbnb, Marriott and Hilton, which are also in travel, leisure and gaming. As of November 4, 2026, Airbnb is worth $105.6 billion and trades on a P/E of 40.2; Marriott is worth $109.4 billion and trades on a P/E of 42.4; Hilton is worth $83.8 billion and trades on a P/E of 50.8. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Booking Holdings below.
Booking Holdings competitors
- Airbnb (ABNB) analysis · Booking Holdings vs Airbnb comparison
- Marriott (MAR) analysis · Booking Holdings vs Marriott comparison
- Hilton (HLT) analysis · Booking Holdings vs Hilton comparison
To understand Booking Holdings better
- How to Read a Balance Sheet: A Beginner's Guide
- P/E Ratio and EPS Explained: How to Read Them Without Traps
More companies like Booking Holdings: travel, leisure and gaming stocks, S&P 500 companies and S&P 100 companies. Open the full BKNG analysis with its valuation and scenarios. Educational content about Booking Holdings, not investment advice.