New York, Feb 21, 2026, 13:06 ET — Market closed.
- Booking’s shares ended Friday higher after a sharp AI-linked drop a day earlier.
- A planned stock split and a bigger dividend have moved onto traders’ calendars.
- The next test is Monday’s open, with investors still debating how fast AI reshapes travel search.
Booking Holdings Inc’s common stock closed Friday up about 1.7% at $4,076.79, steadying after a volatile week for the owner of Booking.com and Priceline.
The set-up for Monday is awkward. Booking is posting solid travel numbers and returning cash, but it is also caught in a market argument about whether generative AI tools will skim the “first click” and reroute bookings away from online travel agencies.
That debate is no longer academic for traders. BKNG is a four-digit stock with big daily ranges, and any shift in sentiment shows up fast in the tape.
On Thursday, the shares dropped 6.1% as U.S. stocks slipped amid fresh jitters over the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, even after Booking’s quarterly report topped profit estimates. (AP News)
Booking said fourth-quarter revenue rose 16% to $6.35 billion and gross bookings — the total value of travel services booked on its platforms, net of cancellations — climbed 16% to $43.0 billion. Adjusted earnings per share, a non-GAAP figure that strips out certain items, were $48.80. It forecast first-quarter gross bookings growth of 14% to 16%, raised its quarterly dividend to $10.50 per share payable March 31, and said it repurchased $2.1 billion of stock in the quarter. “These results highlight the strength of our platform and the discipline of our execution,” CEO Glenn Fogel said. (SEC)
Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen has tried to pull the AI story back toward costs and execution. He said Booking has cut customer service costs by about 10% per reservation by using generative AI as an automation tool. “We’re encouraged by the tangible results,” Steenbergen said. Rival Expedia is also leaning in, with CEO Ariane Gorin telling investors, “We’re experimenting aggressively,” in efforts to stay visible in AI-driven search and browsing tools. (CFO Dive)
The other moving piece is mechanical: a stock split. For a company whose shares still trade around $4,000, a split can change who feels comfortable buying a round lot, even if it does nothing to earnings power.
Based on Friday’s close, a 25-for-1 split would take the headline share price down to roughly $163. The market value does not change; only the slice size does.
But the downside case still hangs over the name. If AI agents start to answer travel queries and complete bookings without sending users to Booking’s storefronts, the company could face pressure on traffic, marketing efficiency and take rates — the cut it earns on each booking — at the same time travel demand cools for price-sensitive customers.
Traders will also watch the tone in the broader travel complex. Any follow-through in AI anxiety could spill into peers, while a relief bid would likely lean on “cash return” stories like dividends and buybacks.
A filing showed the split is expected to move quickly: shareholders of record as of March 6 will receive 24 additional shares for each share held, with distribution after the close on April 2 and split-adjusted trading expected to begin at the market open on April 6. (SEC)
