Priceline Trips Over Guidance

By Chris Lange Published May 7, 9:40AM EDT

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Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) released its first-quarter results Thursday before the markets opened. The company reported $8.12 in earnings per share (EPS) on $1.84 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters had consensus estimates of $7.72 in EPS on $1.80 billion in revenue. The first quarter from last year had $7.81 in EPS on $1.64 in revenue.

The company gave guidance for the second quarter of 2015 as an increase in total gross travel bookings of 0% to 7% year over year, and EPS in the range of $10.95 to $11.75. The consensus estimates are for EPS of $13.10 and revenue of $2.31 billion.

The total bookings for the first quarter were $13.8 billion, an increase of 12% from the first quarter of the previous year.

Priceline had cash and cash equivalents of $3.3 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared to $3.15 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014.

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Darren Huston, president and CEO of Priceline, said:

The Priceline Group is off to a strong start in 2015 with accelerating growth in room nights and rental car days booked. Globally, our brands booked over 100 million room nights for the first time during a quarter. International gross bookings growth accelerated to 29% on a constant currency basis in the 1st quarter. Booking.com continues to extend its lead as the world’s largest brand for booking accommodations, with over 635,000 hotels and other accommodations on the platform, up 40% over last year. Our rental car business grew rental car days by 18% over the 1st quarter of last year, an acceleration from 16% in the 4th quarter.

However, looking forward, the CEO said:

Our brands executed well in the quarter, delivering strong performance on both the top and bottom line, while making smart and sustainable investments to support future growth. We will continue to focus relentlessly on execution at all of our brands and earn our customers’ loyalty by delivering winning experiences across desktop, tablet and mobile platforms.

Following the release of the earnings report, Priceline shares were down 4.5% at $1,207.66 just after Thursday’s opening bell. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $1,360.09 and a 52-week trading range of $990.69 to $1,329.90.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.