By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Booking Holdings stock (NASDAQ:BKNG) jumped 4.4% in Thursday’s premarket trading as travel rebounded during July-September to take its third-quarter sales and profit past analysts’ estimates.
Higher vaccinations and reopening of economies boosted travel bookings, which at a gross level, excluding cancellations, were 77% higher at $23.7 billion.
Revenue also rose 77% to $4.68 billion in the third quarter, which is usually the company's strongest season. It was more than double the amount of revenue Booking recognized three months earlier.
Room nights, a measure of occupancy at a property, increased 44% from the prior-year quarter, the company said in a statement. Demand in Europe drove the topline.
"We are encouraged by the signs of recovery we saw in many parts of the world in the third quarter. . .,” the statement said, quoting Chief Executive Officer Glenn Fogel.
The company has also recorded more gross bookings for the Christmas and New Year period in the U.S. than it had two years ago, before the pandemic, according to Reuters.
But other statements from the company still indicated it may not be time yet to be all gung-ho.
According to Reuters, the rise in Covid-19 cases in countries including Germany, Russia and Italy had hit room nights at its partners' properties in Europe toward the end of October.
Third-quarter adjusted profit per share more than tripled to $37.7 to easily surpass estimates.