Booking Holdings posts higher revenue, operating income, and diluted EPS in latest interim filing

Bottom line

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) filed its period-ended-2026-03-31 under 10-Q (accession 0001075531-26-000025, CIK 0001075531), and the headline reading from the three months ended the three months ended March 31, 2026 is straightforward: revenue, operating income, and diluted EPS all moved higher year over year, with each line item remaining in profit territory versus the prior-year window. The reporting window is the latest interim period filed by the issuer, so the comparison baseline is the same calendar quarter one year earlier, which the filing labels the three months ended March 31, 2025.

On the top line, revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2026 were $5,532,000,000 USD, compared with revenues of $4,762,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2025, a year-over-year increase that keeps the company in growth mode on its reported results.

Operating income tells a similar story: $1,271,000,000 USD of operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2026, up from $1,062,000,000 USD in the three months ended March 31, 2025. Both periods show an operating profit, so the year-over-year transition is profit to profit at a higher level. As the Hilton Worldwide Holdings Posts Profit-to-Profit Growth Across Revenue, Operating Income, Net Income, and Diluted EPS in Interim Filing piece frames for another travel-adjacent issuer, the relevant signal here is simply that profitability broadened, not whether it is best-in-class.

Diluted earnings per share moved in the same direction. Diluted EPS was $1.36 per diluted share USD/SHARES for the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than the $0.40 per diluted share USD/SHARES reported for the three months ended March 31, 2025, with both periods in profit.

In short, on a reported basis, Booking Holdings Inc. posted higher revenue, higher operating income, and higher diluted EPS in the three months ended March 31, 2026 than in the three months ended March 31, 2025, with each metric still positive. The filing itself does not isolate a single driver for the move; The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause..

Management states the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared under U.S. GAAP and SEC interim-reporting rules, with certain footnotes condensed or omitted and the statements to be read alongside the prior Annual Report on Form (omitted). The filing also flags a reclassification of prior-period amounts to conform to current presentation, and a Stock Split effected in April (omitted) with retroactive adjustment to all share and per-share information, which is the kind of context a reader needs before comparing EPS across years.

Across revenue, operating income, and diluted EPS, the year-over-year direction is uniformly positive, consistent with continued top-line growth flowing through to operating profit and per-share earnings. Readers tracking interim filings can place this result alongside other profit-to-profit movers such as CF Industries Holdings Reports Higher Revenue, Operating Income, and Diluted EPS on Both Windows in Interim Filing when comparing directional posture only.

None surfaced in the filing evidence; revenue, operating income, and diluted EPS all increased, so no offsetting weakness is reported on these three lines for the three months ended March 31, 2026.

Segment-level detail is not disclosed for revenue in this excerpt, The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension., and no peer or industry benchmark is provided, The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison..

Financial performance

For Booking Holdings Inc., under 10-Q for period-ended-2026-03-31, accession 0001075531-26-000025, the three-month reporting period the three months ended March 31, 2026 sits beside its prior-year comparative the three months ended March 31, 2025 in the unaudited consolidated statements presented in this filing.

Reported facts - Revenues moved to $5,532,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than the prior-year comparative of $4,762,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2025; both periods remain positive. - Operating Income moved to $1,271,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than the prior-year comparative of $1,062,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2025; the result is a profit in each window. - Earnings Per Share, Diluted moved to $1.36 per diluted share USD/SHARES for the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than the prior-year comparative of $0.40 per diluted share USD/SHARES for the three months ended March 31, 2025; both periods remain positive, on a profit-to-profit transition that follows the share count retroactively adjusted for the Stock Split referenced at the head of the filing.

Management explanations The filing describes the revenue environment in narrative form, noting that revenues from all other sources of online travel reservation services, and advertising and other revenues, each individually represent less than the disclosed threshold of the Company's total revenues for each period, and that cash payments received from travelers in advance of completing performance obligations are recorded as deferred merchant bookings. The filing also discusses the first-quarter adoption of an accounting standards update providing a practical expedient for estimating expected credit losses on current accounts receivable and current contract assets under ASC revenue guidance, stating that adoption did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. Restricted stock units and performance share units granted during the period had an aggregate grant-date fair value disclosed in the Stock-Based Compensation note, and units that vested during the period had an aggregate fair value at vesting also disclosed there; the basic-versus-diluted share reconciliation is summarized in the NET INCOME PER SHARE narrative within the filing.

Analyst inference On a profit-to-profit basis, the three-month trajectory of Revenue, Operating Income, and Diluted EPS in the three months ended March 31, 2026 versus the three months ended March 31, 2025 is consistent with the period-over-period directions that the filing itself reports, and the diluted share count is built up from a weighted-average number of basic common shares plus weighted-average dilutive stock options, restricted stock units, and performance share units, measured under the treasury stock method. A reader comparing Booking's profit-to-profit profile with peers can cross-check the same shape against Hilton Worldwide Holdings Posts Profit-to-Profit Growth Across Revenue, Operating Income, Net Income, and Diluted EPS in Interim Filing and the contrasting loss-to-profit swing in CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. Quarterly Filing Shows Loss-to-Profit Swing in Net Income and Diluted EPS, with Operating Loss Narrowing Year-Over-Year. Fair value measurements in the filing are organized into the three-tier hierarchy described in Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3, with cash equivalents principally money market fund investments and certificates of deposit at carrying value that approximates fair value, and accounts receivable measured at amortized cost less an allowance for expected credit losses.

Counter-evidence Few of the standard refuting items appear in this section's evidence. The filing instead emphasizes a small number of risk-sensitive items: derivative fair values reported on a gross basis; the carrying value of accounts receivable net of the expected credit loss allowance; and the use of unobservable inputs in the lower fair-value tier when little or no market data is available, with the reader pointed to Note 11 for additional information.

Unknowns The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.. The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison.. The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension..

Operating drivers and segments

- Booking Holdings reported revenue of $5,532,000,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared with revenue of $4,762,000,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The authorized comparison indicates higher revenue year over year. - Operating income was $1,271,000,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared with operating income of $1,062,000,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

The company remained profitable, with higher operating income year over year. - The evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension. The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension.

- Because the filing evidence provides no causal attribution, it does not establish which business, geographic, or cost factors produced the change. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause. - The company’s revenue description is broad: revenues from all other sources of online travel reservation services and from advertising and other revenues each individually represented less than the disclosed portion of total revenues.

That statement limits the prominence of those categories but does not provide a full operating breakdown. - Deferred merchant bookings include cash received from travelers before the company completes its performance obligations, consisting principally of estimated amounts payable to travel service providers and estimated future commission, margin, and fee revenue. This is a relevant operating-model indicator, but the quoted evidence does not quantify its effect on the reported period.

- The filing cautions that revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities can vary during each quarter and that interim results and trends may differ from subsequent quarters or the full year. This limits extrapolation from the reported operating performance. - No peer or industry comparison is included in the filing evidence.

The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison. S. GAAP, condensed or omitted certain information that would normally be included under interim reporting requirements, and should be read with the annual consolidated financial statements.

- Management also states that the company’s interim results are not necessarily representative of subsequent quarters or the full year because operating items can vary during the year. The explanation frames the reported figures as period-specific results rather than a complete annual trend. - Management further states that it adopted a practical expedient for estimating expected credit losses on current accounts receivable and current contract assets, with no material impact to the consolidated financial statements.

The filing does not connect that adoption to the reported revenue or operating-income movement. - The company’s stock-based compensation disclosures cover restricted stock units and performance share units, including their grant-date and vesting fair values, but the quoted evidence does not provide a quantified assessment of those items as operating drivers for this period. - The filing identifies fair-value measurement levels and refers readers to the cited notes for additional information, but those disclosures do not establish a direct explanation for the revenue or operating-income changes.

- The company’s revenue recognition discussion emphasizes deferred merchant bookings and the timing between traveler payments and completion of performance obligations. That operational detail is relevant context, but the evidence does not attribute the reported change to it. - The filing states that the company’s online travel reservation services and advertising and other revenues each represent less than the disclosed portion of total revenues for each period.

The information therefore provides a boundary for category materiality without supplying a complete segment or geographic analysis. - Management’s explanation is primarily presentational and accounting-based. The filing evidence does not attribute the change in revenue or operating income to any single cause.

The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

Cash flow and capital

Cash generation remained the cornerstone of the Booking Holdings Inc. 10-Q filing for the three-month reporting period, with operating cash flow of $3,215,000,000 USD contrasted against $3,283,000,000 USD in the prior-year comparative for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Investing activities were a net use of cash in both windows, moving to -$107,000,000 USD from -$118,000,000 USD. Financing activities also represented a net outflow, with the current figure of -$4,026,000,000 USD compared with -$3,967,000,000 USD a year earlier.

On the balance sheet at the balance sheet date of March 31, 2026, the company held Cash and Cash Equivalents of $16,024,000,000 USD, with Accounts and Other Receivables, Net, Current recorded at $3,520,000,000 USD. Long-term Debt, Excluding Current Maturities stood at $15,398,000,000 USD. Management discloses that the fair value of outstanding senior notes is reported under the "Level 2" fair value measurement tier, referencing Note 6 for further detail, while Note 9 carries the underlying fair-value figures for the Company's outstanding senior notes. The commentary attributes the gap between carrying value and fair value to interest rate movements between the two balance sheet dates, with no further quantification provided in the cited passage.

Capital allocation during the three months ended March 31, 2026 combined an active buyback with ongoing dividend distributions and continued investment in property, plant, and equipment. Payments for Repurchase of Common Stock were $3,770,000,000 USD versus $2,170,000,000 USD in the prior year, with the filing confirming that the Board has given the Company the general authorization to repurchase shares of its common stock withheld to satisfy employee withholding tax obligations related to stock-based compensation. Payments of Dividends were $343,000,000 USD compared with $319,000,000 USD. Capital Expenditures, defined as Payments to Acquire Property, Plant, and Equipment, totaled $107,000,000 USD, lower than the $121,000,000 USD spent in the prior-year period. The cash remitted for shares withheld on stock award vesting is presented within financing activities, and the filing notes that this figure may differ from the aggregate cost of the shares withheld for taxes because of timing differences in remittance.

The relationship between these cash uses and the operating cash inflow shapes the quarter's net financing position, but the filing evidence does not attribute the change in any individual line to a single cause. Investors comparing the company's balance sheet posture and shareholder-return cadence against peers can cross-check this disclosure alongside filings such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings Posts Profit-to-Profit Growth Across Revenue, Operating Income, Net Income, and Diluted EPS in Interim Filing to gauge how an asset-light travel platform's capital return profile compares with an asset-heavy hotel operator's. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

Peer and historical context

The current filing under 10-Q for period-ended-2026-03-31 (accession 0001075531-26-000025, CIK 0001075531, ticker BKNG) by Booking Holdings Inc. provides only single-issuer numbers, so a true peer set cannot be reconstructed from the filing evidence alone. Readers looking to triangulate the travel-platform group's pattern of year-over-year revenue and operating-income expansion can compare it with Hilton Worldwide Holdings Posts Profit-to-Profit Growth Across Revenue, Operating Income, Net Income, and Diluted EPS in Interim Filing, which reports a comparable profit-to-profit shape on the top line and operating line in a recent interim. For a counterweight showing a loss-to-profit swing in a different sector, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. Quarterly Filing Shows Loss-to-Profit Swing in Net Income and Diluted EPS, with Operating Loss Narrowing Year-Over-Year frames the opposite transition.

On the company's own historical axis, three authorised year-over-year movements are readable straight from the filing. Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2026 of $5,532,000,000 sit above Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 of $4,762,000,000, with the current period higher than the prior-year comparative. Operating Income for the three months ended March 31, 2026 of $1,271,000,000 is higher than Operating Income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 of $1,062,000,000, with the authorised profit-to-profit transition preserved. Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities for the three months ended March 31, 2026 of $3,215,000,000 is lower than the prior-year comparative of $3,283,000,000, both periods remaining positive, so the operating cash engine is still producing funds but at a slower pace than the year-ago quarter. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

The disagreement between a stronger income statement and a softer cash-flow line is the main historical-comparison tension worth flagging. Operating Income expanding while Operating Cash Flow contracts can indicate timing differences between accrual earnings and cash receipts, working-capital build, or the comparative base; the filing's own narrative on the level-two fair-value measurement of outstanding debt and on share-repurchase activity (covered in Note 12, Note 6, and the stock-repurchase table) does not bridge the gap. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

Quarter-on-quarter commentary, peer-multiple commentary, and prior-quarter comparatives other than the authorised year-over-year movements are not readable from the supplied facts. Segment-level revenue or operating-income splits for the three-month reporting period are not disclosed in the filing evidence, so a brand-by-brand or region-by-region comparison against prior quarters cannot be constructed here. The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension. Industry-context numbers for competing online travel agencies, hotel chains, or alternative accommodation platforms are likewise absent. The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison. Any read on how this quarter stacks against a wider historical trend set should be treated as directional rather than quantified.

Scenario analysis

The base case sits on what Booking Holdings Inc. has actually delivered in the three-month period ending the three months ended March 31, 2026 and on the comparable prior-year window. Reported revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was higher than revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025, measured against $5,532,000,000 versus $4,762,000,000, and the period remained profitable on an operating-income basis relative to a prior-year profit. Net cash from operating activities printed positive for both windows, financing cash outflow stayed negative, and investing cash outflow stayed negative but moved closer to break-even year over year. Share repurchases and dividend payments were both higher than the prior-year quarter, and capital expenditure on property, plant, and equipment was lower. The base case assumes these directional trends persist into the next reporting cycle without an external shock: revenue continues to grow, operating profitability holds, free-cash-flow conversion improves as investing outflows moderate, and capital return to shareholders continues at a measured pace.

A constructive read on the filing leans on the same revenue acceleration and the year-over-year improvement in operating income that the interim document records for the three months ended March 31, 2026. If that top-line momentum extends, gross-take dollars per transaction rise through better mix, and innovation-box-style tax benefits on Netherlands-sourced income continue to compress the effective rate, diluted EPS could keep expanding from its already-higher base. Investing activities moving toward less negative territory is consistent with capital intensity easing; combined with steady operating cash generation, that would give the buyback and dividend programs more room to scale from the higher levels already reported. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

A more cautious read starts from the regulatory and tax exposures disclosed in the filing. Competition and consumer-protection authorities in Italy, Spain, France, and Switzerland have open or recently decided matters involving Booking Holdings Inc.'s contractual parity provisions, ranking criteria, and commission levels; appeals and suspensions are pending, and any unfavorable outcome could translate into fines, business-practice restrictions, or forced commission reductions such as the Swiss commission matter. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provisions effective in the cited period introduce changes to U.S. interest-expense limitation rules and foreign-tax-credit utilization that the filing flags as already pressuring the effective tax rate, which was higher than the prior-year quarter. Together with the noted reduction in discrete tax benefits, a higher sustained tax rate would compress net income even if revenue keeps climbing. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

Counter-evidence and unknowns: - Peer and industry comparisons are not in the filing evidence for this period. The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison. - Segment-level detail that would separate brand performance within the group is not disclosed in the cited material. The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension. - The exact mix between organic volume growth, accommodation nights, and average-daily-rate movement is not attributed in the interim filing. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

Risks and what to watch

- Reported facts — The filing for Booking Holdings Inc. under 10-Q covering period-ended-2026-03-31 (accession 0001075531-26-000025, CIK 0001075531) records revenues of $5,532,000,000 USD for the three-month reporting period the three months ended March 31, 2026, higher than the prior-year comparative revenues of $4,762,000,000 USD for the three months ended March 31, 2025. com's contractual parity provisions and ranking criteria.

com has appealed that decision, and the Spanish National Court ruled in February of a recent year that the decision, including the fine, is suspended pending appeal. com has appealed, with the order suspended pending the outcome. The filing's Part II index references Item 1A for Risk Factors and Item 3 for Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

- Management explanations — The narrative states that "some investigations have resulted in fines and the Company could incur additional fines and/or be restricted in certain of its business practices in the future," and warns that additional commitments, fines, damages, remedies, or business changes could harm the company's business, financial condition, and results of operations. Management also describes voluntary commitments previously made regarding price display, the disclosure of money's effect on search rankings, and the presentation of discounts and popularity or availability statements.

- Analyst inference — With revenue moving higher year over year and operating income remaining a profit on a profit basis, the headline trajectory in the cited financial statements appears favorable, but the source narrative makes clear that the same revenue stream depends on contractual terms with hotels and partners that competition authorities in several European jurisdictions are actively challenging, so resolution of those matters could constrain future pricing flexibility or commission levels. - Counter-evidence — The appeal of the CNMC decision and the Spanish National Court's suspension of payment and restrictions pending appeal is a concrete counterweight to the fine and the restrictions described in the narrative, as is the suspension of the Swiss PSO commission-reduction order pending appeal.

The narrative also describes a separate French DGCCRF investigation and an Italian investigation as still-open matters, which can be read as ongoing rather than resolved risk. - Unknowns — The filing evidence does not disclose the financial impact of these matters on revenue beyond the reported figures. The filing evidence does not attribute this change to any single cause.

The filing evidence contains no peer or industry comparison. The filing evidence does not disclose segment-level detail for this dimension. - Metrics to watch next period — Readers should track the resolution of the Italian, Spanish, Swiss, and French investigations referenced in the cited note, the level of any additional fines or restrictions disclosed under Item 1 Legal Proceedings, the fair-value disclosures in Note 6 and Note 7, the investment risk discussion in Item 3, and the next period's revenues under the three months ended March 31, 2026 relative to the three months ended March 31, 2025.