Expedia’s stock climbed more than 7 percent in after hours trading on Thursday as the travel site hit analyst expectations and continued to show strong growth in usage numbers.
The company reported a $345 million profit on $1.94 billion in revenues. That comes out to an earnings per share of $2.07, edging out analyst expectations of $2.05.
Expedia also reported an 8 percent increase in profits over the same time last year, while revenue climbed 16 percent. The number of hotel room nights booked through the site also grew by 36 percent and gross bookings by 21 percent.
These are the first results we’ve seen since Expedia completed its $1.6 billion acquisition of Orbitz in September. Only a couple week’s worth of the combined results made it into this quarter’s report, so we’ll have to wait until Q4 to get a better look at that business.
Expedia has been buying up competitors and slashing prices in an attempt to secure greater market share for the past couple years. But for that strategy to work, the company is going to have to continue showing usage numbers climb at a steady pace.
