EXPEDIA GROUP, INC. (Reuters) - Online travel services company Expedia Inc (>> Expedia Inc) reported quarterly profit below Wall Street's consensus forecast, sending the brand's shares tumbling in after-hours trading on Thursday.
Shares of Expedia Inc, which owns Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire and other brands, slid 6 percent in extended trading, as investors reacted to the third-quarter earnings publication.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.51 (1.91 pounds) per share in the quarter, falling short of analysts' average estimate of $2.62 per share.
Total quarterly revenue rose to $2.97 billion, from $2.58 billion a year earlier, and compared to an average estimate of $2.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Its HomeAway vacation rental business, which competes with Airbnb, has been witnessing strong growth, however. The unit reported a 45 percent jump in revenue in the latest quarter.
HomeAway is one of the many acquisitions Expedia made under former Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi, whose exit in August to ride-share provider Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] had sparked worries among investors.
Expedia sought to allay concerns by naming company veteran Mark Okerstrom as its new CEO, with Khosrowshahi staying on the board.
Underperformance at majority-owned hotel price comparison site Trivago (>> Trivago NV - ADR) is also weighing on Expedia. On Wednesday, Trivago again cut its 2017 revenue forecast and warned that there would be no growth in the first half of 2018.
In the third quarter to Sept.30, Expedia said gross bookings rose 11 percent to $22.2 billion. Domestic gross bookings increased 5 percent, while international gross bookings rose 22 percent.
Net income attributable to Expedia rose to $352 million, or $2.23 per share, from $279 million, or $1.81 per share, in the year prior.
"Healthy room night growth (was) partly offset by natural disasters, Trivago," the company said in the quarterly release.
Expedia said that Trivago lost $8 million in the third quarter, while a recent series of severe hurricanes cost it nearly $15 million to $20 million.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas and Alana Wise; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Rosalba O'Brien)
By Alana Wise and Sanjana Shivdas
