Booking Holdings (BKNG) stock price slides 3% as TripAdvisor slump revives AI-search worries

12 February 2026

NEW YORK, February 12, 2026, 11:28 EST — Regular session

Booking Holdings slipped roughly 3% in late-morning trading.
Booking’s results drop Feb. 18, while Friday brings the U.S. CPI report—investors are watching both.
TripAdvisor shares tumbled after the company missed earnings expectations and pointed to changes in search behavior fueled by AI.

Booking Holdings Inc shares fell 3.1% to $4,179.02 by 11:12 a.m. EST on Thursday, with the stock coming off an earlier intraday peak of $4,385.01. The online travel firm faced sell pressure throughout the regular session.

That move comes just a week before Booking puts out its next earnings report—a moment that could clarify trends in travel demand and ad spending, with investors still questioning how solid bookings will be going into spring. The company plans to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 figures around 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 18, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Macro jitters have resurfaced too. After a robust U.S. jobs report, traders scaled back expectations for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. Now, the spotlight shifts to Friday’s January consumer price index release — the market’s next hurdle. “This is constructive news in that the economy is not in dire need of rate cuts,” said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investments. Reuters

Travel stocks lost ground as well. TripAdvisor slid roughly 16%. Expedia and Airbnb both slipped around 2%.

TripAdvisor posted fourth-quarter revenue of $411 million, falling short on adjusted earnings per share. Net loss for the quarter came in at $38 million, with numbers tracked by S&P Capital IQ and Investing.com. CEO Matt Goldberg flagged a “ongoing declines in flyby visitors to our site due to the changing search landscape and the rise of AI overviews.” Those AI Overviews—generative summaries that now appear at the top of search results—are cutting into the free SEO traffic that websites like TripAdvisor have long relied on. MarketScreener

Booking finds itself tangled in the wider debate about AI’s impact on travel shopping and the knock-on effect for marketing efficiency. Robert Mollins at Gordon Haskett bumped Booking up to Buy this week, dubbing it “our highest conviction idea.” He said worries about “AI-driven competitive encroachment” had been overblown by investors. TipRanks

Consumer promos are still coming. On Wednesday, Booking.com—a Booking Holdings brand—announced it’s now the official travel partner for the Route 66 Centennial, an event series running into 2026.

Beyond the digital booking sites, hotel executives are treading lightly when it comes to the budget segment. Hilton is now projecting room revenue growth of just 1% to 2% for 2026, trailing what analysts had penciled in. The company cited a pullback from travelers watching their wallets, despite steady demand at the premium end.

Travel stocks can turn on a dime. A hotter-than-expected inflation print on Friday, or any signals from Booking pointing to softer growth or rising ad expenses from changing search trends, and investors might press even more on the shares.

Eyes are turning to Friday’s CPI numbers and Booking’s Feb. 18 results for clues on gross bookings, room nights, and how much is going into marketing. Airbnb’s Q4 earnings call lands at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, offering another quick check on travel appetite.

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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