Priceline Earnings Beat; Shares Jump
Priceline.com reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that topped forecasts, which the company attributed to improved hotel and car-rental reservations.
The online travel company's shares popped more than 5 percent after the closing bell, following the news. What is Priceline's stock doing now? (Click here for the latest after-hours quote.)
Net income rose to $288.7 million, or $5.63 per share, compared with $225.7 million, or $4.41 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, earnings climbed to $6.77 per share from $5.37 a share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue improved 20 percent to $1.19 billion from $991 million a year ago.
Analysts had expected Priceline to report earnings excluding items of $6.54 a share on $1.19 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
The company expects travel bookings and gross profit to each increase 30 to 37 percent in the first quarter of 2013. However, it warned that because of troubles in the euro zone, among other global concerns, "variability around its guidance is elevated."
"The group's brands are off to a good start in 2013, with greater supply and geographic reach," said CEO Jeffrey Boyd in a press release. "While global economic conditions remain a concern, we are excited about our long-term outlook."
