BKNG - Booking CEO sees strong second half of the year amid robust travel demand

Following up on a mixed earnings report for Q2, Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel gave an upbeat assessment for the rest of the year, saying that the company projects "record revenue" in Q3.

In an interview with CNBC, the head of Booking Holdings ( NASDAQ: BKNG ) added that Q4 looks strong as well. He noted that the bookings for the final quarter of the fiscal year are currently running about 15% ahead of the same time in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

Fogel clarified that about 10 percentage points of this increase came from currency exchange, thanks to the strength the dollar has seen against the euro.

The Booking CEO also reported that customers are booking less far in advance, making the decision closer to their planned travel date. He noted that this shorter booking window adds uncertainty to the firm's projections.

However, looking longer term, Fogel said, despite any near-term "ups and downs," the company will benefit from a growing travel business and its focus on adding market share.

"People are going to keep on traveling and they are going to travel more and more over the long run," he said.

Fogel's comments followed the release of a mixed report for Q2 . The company beat expectations on its bottom line but came up short with its revenue figure. In the wake of the financial figures, BKNG slipped nearly 3% in Thursday's early trading.

For 2022 as a whole, BKNG has dropped about 23% amid worries that inflation and a weak economy would eventually cut into post-pandemic travel demand.

However, given these industry dynamics, BKNG has actually performed better than many of its peers, Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) has declined 29% so far this year. Meanwhile, Expedia ( EXPE ) has fallen 45%.

Elsewhere in the sector, Trip.com ( TCOM ) has substantially outperformed the overall sector. The stock has climbed about 7% for 2022. Shares were helped by a big pop in late June, when it issued a standout earnings report .

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