New York, February 28, 2026, 11:54 EST — Market closed.
- Booking shares dipped a bit on Friday, finishing the session just under water before Monday’s open.
- Kayak launched its latest marketing campaign, while Booking scheduled its CFO to speak at a conference on March 3.
- March 6 is catching traders’ attention, both for the stock split record date and for the U.S. jobs report landing on the same day.
Booking Holdings Inc shares slipped 0.26% on Friday to finish at $4,239.35, barely budging as the Nasdaq travel giant approaches next week. Barchart.com
The countdown to Booking’s 25-for-1 stock split is underway. The company sets March 6 as the record date for the split, which will increase the share count and lower the price per share, while leaving overall value untouched. Distribution of new shares is scheduled after the April 2 close, with trading on a split-adjusted basis kicking off April 6. SEC
Macro is pulling its weight. U.S. producer prices climbed beyond forecasts in January, according to Reuters, adding to bets that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady through at least June. “The problem last month appeared to be tariff-related,” said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics. Reuters
Friday saw stocks pull back, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Dow losing 1.1% after investors reacted to the latest inflation data, a market wrap showed. Yahoo Finance
BKNG gained 2.1% Thursday, with most online travel stocks trading higher. Expedia surged almost 7% during the session. MarketWatch
Company headlines? Mostly marketing pushes and executive powwows. Kayak, part of the Booking stable, launched a fresh brand platform and tagline: “Got That Right.” The concept targets travelers caught in a tangle of “information overwhelm,” as the company puts it, who find themselves second-guessing every booking. “Travelers don’t need more information, they need reassurance,” said Carolina Montenegro, Kayak’s senior vice president of global brand marketing. PR Newswire
Booking noted that CFO Ewout Steenbergen is set for an interview at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco on March 3. Investors can catch the webcast through the company’s investor site. PR Newswire
Booking slipped just 0.26% on Friday, showing more resilience than rivals. Expedia dropped 1.03%, and Tripadvisor was down 1.65% in the session. MarketWatch
The catch: fresh corporate news doesn’t take the pressure off the central question facing travel—just how long will consumers keep opening their wallets as tariffs and inflation eat into budgets? BKNG still faces a fight for traffic in a packed online search space, a battle that can ratchet up marketing expenses.
Next week brings a fresh round of data. According to a Reuters poll, Friday’s U.S. jobs report is forecast to show 60,000 new payrolls for February, following January’s increase of 130,000. That’s one of the last major numbers the Fed will see before its March meeting. Reuters
Booking has a couple of immediate catalysts: Steenbergen’s conference appearance lands on March 3, with the stock split record date following on March 6. Trading picks up again Monday.
