Bellevue-based Expedia has been looking to the acquisition markets to grow for a while, and now we’re starting to see that pay off in the form of more users — both internationally and at home.
The company, which is the leading online travel agency in the U.S. but lags far behind competitor Priceline in international markets, posted strong earnings numbers on Thursday afternoon. It met analyst expectations with a $450 million profit on $1.66 billion of revenue.
It also reported the number of international room nights booked through the company’s system increased by 50 percent year-over-year, while international revenue grew by 14 percent.
Expedia still makes a little over half its money in the U.S., but it has spent the past year branching out into new markets. Investors seem to approve of the moves, as the company’s stock is trading up more than 35 percent from this time last year.
It acquired Australia’s Wotif.com in July 2014, took a majority stake in its joint venture with AirAsia in February and invested $270 million in Latin America’s Decolar.com in March.
Domestically, the company acquired Travelocity in January and announced in February a deal to buy Orbitz for $1.6 billion, though the later has yet to be approved by regulators.
Of the 20 percent increase in gross bookings the company enjoyed this quarter, 6 percent was due to the acquisitions. The deals also contributed 5 percent of the company’s 15 percent growth in total revenue.
Expedia’s stock was trading up nearly 8 percent in after hours trading immediately following the release.
