Tech

Expedia shares nosedive — but new CEO blames passing factors

Key Points
  • Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom says the company's stock decline on Friday is a "concern," but he is still optimistic about the future of the business.
  • He believes investors are reacting to short-term issues, including recent hurricanes and struggles with hotel price comparison site Trivago.
Expedia CEO responds to stock decline after earnings miss
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Expedia CEO responds to stock decline after earnings miss

Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom told CNBC that the company's stock decline on Friday is a "concern" but he is still "incredibly optimistic" about the future of the business.

Shares of the travel company fell Friday, one day after it reported quarterly earnings that failed to meet Wall Street's expectations.

The stock was down about 18 percent intraday, trading around $120 per share. The stock is down more than 5 percent over the last 12 months, according to FactSet.

Expedia's bookings were light for the quarter, and it faced challenges from extreme weather.

Okerstrom said he believes investors are reacting to short-term issues, including recent hurricanes and struggles with hotel price comparison site Trivago. Expedia has a majority stake in that company.

"But when you put those aside, what we believe and what we see ... we see an incredible opportunity ahead of us," Okerstrom told "Squawk on the Street" on Friday. He said the company has been making investments in HomeAway as well as its core business.

"We've seen our ability to add new properties go from 30,000 about three years ago. This year, we'll add about 85,000. Next year, we're really going to ramp that up," he added.

The stock decline is a "concern," Okerstrom said, "but I'm not running a stock, I'm running a company."

"When we look at the company ... we look at the strength that we are seeing right now in operations. We look at the size of the opportunity ahead of us. We look at the track record that we've displayed," Okerstrom said. "We're incredibly optimistic for the future."