Expedia is the IBD Stock Of The Day, as travel stocks benefit from the improved outlook by airline companies. Expedia stock edged down during afternoon trading on Thursday.
The stock has formed a cup with handle, with a buy point of 204.08, according to MarketSmith analysis. Expedia stock dropped 1.3% to close at 183.39 on the stock market today. Last week, shares popped 6.5% to 191.55, and it reclaimed its 50-day line.
Expedia is one of the largest online-travel booking companies globally. Its brands include Hotels.com, Vrbo, Trivago, Orbitz and Travelocity.
Expedia's main rival is Booking Holdings. Booking brands include Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable.
Expedia Stock Lifted By Airlines
The improved performance in Expedia stock comes as airline and travel stocks have jumped on guidance from Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.
United and American soared this week after both predicted booming travel demand despite first-quarter losses. United said it expects to return to profitability in the second quarter and full year despite surging fuel costs, even as its first-quarter results missed expectations.
Also on Tuesday, Delta offered up first-quarter revenue forecasts that were better than their earlier expectations.
"In the period following the peak in Covid-19 case counts associated with the omicron variant in January 2022, demand for travel has exceeded the company's previous expectations," United said in a regulatory filing.
Travel Stocks Breaking Out
While Expedia stock tried to break out Thursday, other travel stocks managed to push through this week.
These include Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International. The positive forecasts arrive some two years after the pandemic left U.S. airline industry and travel industry stocks reeling from steep losses.
Travel was one of the earliest and most harshly affected sectors in the coronavirus pandemic. Even with some uncertainty around omicron, people are ready to travel again.
Expedia Earnings Beat Estimates
The evidence also was in the fourth-quarter results in late February that blew past Wall Street estimates.
Expedia said that gross bookings soared 131% to $17.5 billion from the year-ago period. Total revenue jumped 148% to $2.28 billion, driven by a strong recovery across all of its lines of business. In addition, adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share compared with a loss of $2.64 in the 2020 quarter.
Expedia stock is currently trading right about where it started the year. Meanwhile, Expedia reports first-quarter results on May 2.
As travel bans are lifted, U.S. spending on travel is expected to jump 21% this year to $1.06 trillion. That's a sharp recovery from the 42% plunge in 2020, according to Tourism Economics and the U.S. Travel Association.
Expedia Stock: Working To Cut Costs
Expedia, like most other companies during the pandemic downturn, worked aggressively to cut costs and streamline business operations.
It has an IBD Composite Rating of 89 out of 99. That means Expedia stock is outpacing 89% of all stocks in terms of the most important stock-picking traits.
Further, Expedia stock earns the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Leisure-Travel Booking industry group. It's followed by Booking Holdings and Airbnb.
Please follow Brian Deagon on Twitter at @IBD_BDeagon for more on tech stocks, analysis and financial markets.
