Booking Holdings Cuts Fiscal Year Outlook as Middle East Conflict Weighs on Travel Demand

By Kelly Cloonan

Booking Holdings cut its full-year outlook on expectations that the conflict in the Middle East will continue hurting travel demand in some regions.

The online travel agency, which owns brands including Booking.com and Kayak, said Tuesday it now expects revenue to grow by a high-single-digit rate this year, compared with its prior forecast of low-double-digit growth.

The company now expects adjusted earnings per share to increase by a low- to mid-teens percentage, compared with its previous projection for mid-teens growth.

For the current quarter, Booking forecasts revenue growth of 4% to 6%, compared with analyst estimates for an increase of about 11%, according to FactSet.

Booking said it expects effects from the conflict in the Middle East to continue through the end of June, with continued fluctuations in travel demand across Middle Eastern inbound, outbound and intra-region routes as well as ongoing disruptions to major transit corridors, such as those between Europe and Asia. The company expects a recovery in bookings in the second half of the year.

"Regardless of near-term uncertainty, we remain focused on the factors within our control," Chief Executive Glenn Fogel said.

Fogel said headwinds associated with the Middle East conflict weighed on Booking's latest quarterly results, though the company saw continued strength in its strategic growth areas, particularly in the U.S.

For the first quarter, profit came in at $1.08 billion, or $1.36 a share, compared with $333 million, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.14, compared with estimates of $1.08 a share according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue climbed 16% to $5.53 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $5.52 billion.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2026 16:48 ET (20:48 GMT)