Tripadvisor Profit Falls as Hotel Weakness Deepens
Second-quarter continuing-operations revenue fell 7% to $441.9 million.
The online travel company Tripadvisor (TRIP) reported a 38% drop in second-quarter continuing-operations net income as weakness in its hotel business and higher marketing costs weighed on results. Adjusted net income fell 27%, while GAAP diluted earnings declined 32% to $0.19 a share.
The quarter marked Tripadvisor’s shift away from restaurant reservations after it agreed to sell TheFork to American Express for $700 million in cash and classified the business as discontinued operations. TheFork had contributed $57.3 million of revenue and $4.6 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the prior quarter.
The revenue decline deepened from the first quarter’s 4% drop in total revenue, though that earlier figure included TheFork and therefore wasn’t directly comparable. Continuing-operations adjusted EBITDA fell 21% to $76.4 million, narrowing the margin to 17.3% from about 20.4% a year earlier.
Experiences revenue rose 3%, slowing from 8% growth in the first quarter, as bookings growth eased to about 5% from roughly 11%. The segment recorded 6.5 million bookings and approximately $1.4 billion in gross booking value, up about 3%. Adjusted EBITDA fell 19% to $30.8 million, compressing the segment’s margin to 11.1% from 14.0%.
Hotels and Other revenue declined 21% to $163.3 million, slightly steeper than the first quarter’s 20% contraction. Hotel revenue fell 23%, and the segment’s adjusted EBITDA declined 23% to $45.6 million as its margin narrowed to 27.9%.
Costs and expenses decreased 3%, a slower pace than the revenue contraction. Marketing expense rose 4% and reached 48.7% of revenue, up from 43.6%, while personnel expense fell 21%. General and administrative expense increased 53% to $14.5 million after declining 16% in the first quarter.
Operating cash flow fell 31% to $141.2 million and free cash flow declined 29% to $129.8 million, reversing their first-quarter increases. Cash and equivalents from continuing operations ended at $843.2 million after Tripadvisor used $345.4 million to repay its 2026 senior notes, leaving the company with a smaller cash base as it completed its post-TheFork transition.