Sydney, Feb 9, 2026, 17:37 AEDT — After-hours
- Web Travel Group clawed back some ground, closing 18.6% higher after last week’s drop sparked by a Spanish tax audit.
- The company stuck with its FY26 EBITDA outlook, noting that its review in Spain is still just getting underway.
- Analysts say the stock could stay volatile, citing ongoing uncertainty around both timing and potential cost.
Shares of Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX:WEB) jumped 18.6% to A$3.51 on Monday, clawing back part of Friday’s steep decline. The company stuck to its FY26 EBITDA outlook, holding guidance steady at A$147 million to A$155 million. A tax review involving its Spanish unit only kicked off on Feb. 5, and the group said it’s not ready to provide further details. Shares moved between A$3.15 and A$3.55, after closing at A$2.96 last Friday.
The rebound hardly changes the core issue here. Investors are struggling to value a tax audit that comes with scant details, following a sharp selloff that left the company scrambling. Now the question is whether the relief rally sticks around next session, or if sellers use any uptick as a chance to exit.
On Friday, Web Travel revealed the Special Delegation of the Balearic Islands from the Spanish Tax Agency has launched an audit into its Spanish subsidiary. The review targets direct taxes between April 2021 and March 2024, and indirect taxes spanning January 2022 through December 2025. The company noted it is cooperating with authorities and pledged to keep the market informed “as appropriate,” in line with ASX continuous disclosure obligations that mandate timely release of potentially price-sensitive information. ASX Announcements
The ASX flagged the sharp fall in Web Travel shares—from A$3.81 down to A$2.475—on the day the audit news broke, and pointed out the spike in trading activity. In its response, Web Travel said it had no undisclosed information that would account for the price action. The company insisted the audit update wasn’t “market sensitive,” and explained the timing of its statement by pointing to reports in the Spanish media.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Wei-Weng Chen flagged that investors might tread carefully for now. The company is still only at the questionnaire phase, Chen noted—no direct engagement yet, so management can’t gauge the size of any fallout. According to RBC, Spain makes up roughly 10% to 12% of group revenue; that’s reassured some, but uncertainty lingers over exactly how broad or fast-moving this could get, the report said.
Still, audits tend to sprawl—and they’re rarely quick. Even when the final impact is limited, a drawn-out probe can mean provisions, eat up executives’ bandwidth, and leave the shares hanging in the news cycle.
Aside from taxes, investors are eyeing the strength of trading momentum. Web Travel projected double-digit booking growth for FY27 and kept its TTV margin forecast steady at 6.5%—that’s the slice it takes from bookings.
On Tuesday, attention turns to updates on the Spanish review—traders want to know if any new details surface, and whether Monday’s rebound has legs in the absence of fresh news. Web Travel has a placeholder for its FY26 results briefing on May 28, according to its investor calendar.
