Priceline.com (PCLN) Negotiates Higher Q3 Profits (Update)
More News related to PCLN
- Mandel's Lone Pine Capital Picks Up More of a Major Bank, Gets New Shares of a Smartphone Maker and Lowers Stakes in the Credit Card Processors
- Top 10 News Items 11/09-11/13: HP/3Com Strike a Massive Tech Deal; Intel to Pay AMD $1.25B to Settle Disputes; Wal-Mart Reports Solid Q3 Results
- Momentum Sectors Carry Into Weekend
- Priceline.com Releases Its 2009 List Of The Best Days To Fly For The Holidays, Updates Average Holiday Airfare Data
- Notable Analyst Rating Changes 11/11: SMI, TOL, SFD, MCHP Upgraded; PCLN, SNV, RHIE, ADBE, SIGM, HUM Downgraded
More News related to Earnings
- Highlights From SJM's Q2 Conference Call: Acquisition of Folger's Really Paying Off; Comfortable Raising FY Outlook
- Highlights From INTU's Q1 Conference Call: Issues Mixed Guidance for Q2, In-line for FY10
- Highlights From The GAP's (GPS) Q3 Conference Call: Total Comp-Store Sales Were Flat Vs. Down 12% Last Year
- Highlights From DELL's Q3 Conference Call: Revenues Adversely Affected By Timing of Windows 7 Launch
- D. R. Horton (DHI) Home Orders Rise, But Losses Continue
(Update with comments from analysts)
Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) saw share jump after the company's third quarter earnings beat analyst estimates by a substantial margin.
The discount travel source reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.45 per share, 55 cents ahead of the market consensus. Revenue for the company in the third quarter was $730.7 million, ahead of the analyst estimate of $693.97 million.
"Despite a difficult economic environment, the summer travel season turned out to be an exceptionally strong one for priceline.com, as 3rd quarter growth rates accelerated sequentially for our international and domestic businesses," said priceline.com President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery H. Boyd.
Profit for Priceline was $319 million in the third quarter, significantly higher than the $84.5 earned in the same quarter last year as consumers are looking to save money with discount flights, hotels and rental cars.
The company stated that the value of its online bookings increased over the year-ago quarter by 32.8 percent to $2.8 billion.
"The online travel industry achieved improved year-over-year growth in the third quarter as we comped against weakening demand in the prior-year period and received a boost from industry-wide fee reductions and supplier discounting and promotions." Boyd said.
For the fourth quarter, Priceline estimates GAAP net income of approximately $1.06 to $1.16 per diluted share.
Analyst Comments:
Piper Jaffray maintained an Overweight rating on Priceline.com with a price target of $232.00, citing the company’s growth in international booking, where it remains the best positioned online-travel agency. Total bookings for the Priceline jumped by 33 percent over the same quarter last year. The analysts now see the fourth-quarter earnings per share for the company at $1.60, up from the previous estimate of $1.49.
Analysts for Goldman Sachs maintain a Neutral rating on Priceline after the company delivered better than expected third-quarter gross bookings, revenue, and earnings per share as unit growth accelerated across all product segments despite recent fee cuts by competitors. The analysts stated that Priceline is gaining international market with competitors Expedia and Orbitz being unable to gain footing on the global scale.
Shares of Priceline have soared to $207.97, a 19.71 percent growth, in market movement today.
Related Categories
EarningsStocks Mentioned
+1.11Related Entities
Sign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
