Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG): BCG Matrix [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear-eyed view of where Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) is generating and investing its capital as of late 2025, so we've mapped their portfolio using the BCG Matrix, and the picture is sharp: the core European hotel business is printing cash, hitting about $4.2 billion in Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA, while new bets like flights are surging over 44% growth. Still, not everything is firing; we see clear drags like the $457 million impairment at KAYAK, and high-stakes gambles like Agoda needing serious focus. Dive in below to see exactly which units are the Stars, the Cash Cows, the Dogs, and the Question Marks driving the next phase of capital allocation for Booking Holdings Inc.

Background of Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)

You're looking at Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG), which stands as the world's leading provider of online travel and related services. Honestly, the sheer scale of their operation is what first jumps out; they cover travel experiences across more than 220 countries and territories, spanning the Americas, Indo-Pacific, EMEA, and Oceania. As of late 2025, the company commands a market capitalization of around $158.1 billion, firmly placing it in the large-cap category.

Booking Holdings operates through several core consumer-facing brands you definitely know, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable. They also manage subsidiary brands like Rocketmiles and Fareharbor, covering everything from hotels and alternative accommodations to car rentals and flight bookings. The company's stated mission is straightforward: making it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Looking at the most recent numbers, the third quarter of 2025 showed solid momentum. Total revenue for that quarter hit $9.0 billion, marking a 13% increase year-over-year, and Gross Bookings were up 14% to $49.7 billion. For the full fiscal year 2025, management guided for revenue growth of about 12%, which translates to an expected total revenue near $26.54 billion.

A key strategic shift you should note is the move from the agency model to the merchant model, especially on Booking.com. In the merchant model, Booking Holdings processes the payment directly, which gives them more control over the customer journey but also increases operating complexity. In Q3 2025, merchant revenues were $6.13 billion (about 68.1% of total revenue), while agency revenues were $2.57 billion, actually declining 6.7% year-over-year. This shows a fundamental change in how they generate revenue.

Operationally, room nights-a critical metric for them-grew 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching 323 million nights booked. Furthermore, the alternative accommodations segment continues to be a major focus, with listings growing to over 8.6 million properties, signaling a clear effort to compete beyond traditional hotels. The overarching strategy tying these efforts together is the 'Connected Trip' vision, enhanced by loyalty programs like Genius and new GenAI features.

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) - BCG Matrix: Stars

You're looking at the segments of Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) that are dominating high-growth markets right now. These are the businesses that command significant market share and are still expanding rapidly, meaning they require substantial investment to maintain that leadership position. Honestly, the cash flow is strong, but so are the reinvestment needs to fend off competitors and capture more of the growing market. If this success sustains as market growth naturally slows, these units are set to become the next generation of Cash Cows for the company.

The Connected Trip strategy is definitely a prime example of a Star, pulling together different travel components. This focus is showing up in the numbers, particularly with flight bookings. For the second quarter of 2025, flight tickets saw a year-over-year increase of 44%. Also, the multi-vertical transactions, which are the core of the Connected Trip vision, grew by over 30% year-over-year in Q2 2025, now making up a low double-digit percentage of Booking.com's total transactions. This shows you they are successfully cross-selling beyond their traditional strength.

Alternative Accommodations is another area showing high growth and market penetration. You see this in the sheer scale they are building out. In Q2 2025, Booking.com's alternative accommodation listings expanded by 8% year-over-year, reaching 8.4 million properties. This supply growth is translating directly into bookings, as alternative accommodation room nights grew 10% year-over-year for the quarter, outpacing the overall room night growth rate.

Here's a quick look at the key performance indicators for these high-momentum segments as of the second quarter of 2025. These figures defintely illustrate the high-growth, high-share positioning.

The investment thesis here centers on continuing to pour resources into these areas to solidify market leadership before the growth curve flattens. The company is actively pushing these initiatives to capture more of the total travel wallet from each customer.

• - Flight tickets up 44% YoY in Q2 2025, supporting the Connected Trip.
• - Alternative Accommodations listings reached 8.4 million properties, up 8% YoY.
• - Connected Trip transactions growing over 30% year-over-year in Q2 2025.
• - Expansion into non-hotel segments like tours and activities, with attractions tickets more than doubling.

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) - BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

You're analyzing the bedrock of Booking Holdings Inc.'s financial strength, the segment that consistently funds the rest of the portfolio. This is the classic Cash Cow: high market share in a mature space, generating more cash than it needs to maintain its position.

The core European hotel business, primarily driven by the Booking.com brand, fits this description perfectly. This segment holds a dominant market share of roughly 71% across the Online Travel Agency (OTA) space in Europe. This high market share in a mature, yet consistently large, market is the definition of a Cash Cow's environment.

This business unit is the main engine driving the company's third quarter of 2025 performance. Specifically, the Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2025 reached approximately $4.2 billion, representing a robust 15% year-over-year growth. This cash generation is what allows Booking Holdings Inc. to fund its other ventures.

The underlying revenue structure supports the high-margin nature expected of a Cash Cow. While the traditional Agency revenue model, which relies on commissions, is still significant, the shift toward the Merchant model is notable. In Q3 2025, Agency revenue was reported at $2.6 billion, while Merchant revenue was $6.1 billion. This move toward merchant processing, where Booking Holdings Inc. processes the payment directly, typically implies greater control over the customer journey and potentially higher margins.

Consider the scale of operations that this cash cow supports. The massive global hotel inventory facilitated 323 million room nights in Q3 2025 alone. This volume, combined with the high market penetration in Europe, ensures consistent cash inflow with relatively lower required investment for growth compared to newer markets.

Here's a quick look at the revenue segmentation from that powerhouse quarter:

The focus for this segment is maintaining productivity, not aggressive expansion, which keeps promotional and placement investments lean. Investments here are more likely targeted at infrastructure to improve efficiency and further boost that cash flow. For instance, the company's Transformation Program aims for annual operating expense savings of $400-450 million within the next three years, which directly supports milking these gains passively.

You can see the strategic importance of this segment through the company's overall reliance, as Booking Holdings Inc. and Expedia Group together control about 60 percent of all travel bookings in Europe and the United States. The stability is key.

The characteristics of this cash-generating unit include:

• Dominant European OTA market share of roughly 71%.
• Generated $4.2 billion in Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 2025.
• Facilitated 323 million room nights in Q3 2025.
• Agency revenue segment was $2.6 billion in Q3 2025.

Finance: draft the projected cash flow contribution from the European segment for the next four quarters by Monday.

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) - BCG Matrix: Dogs

You're looking at the parts of Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) that aren't driving the high-growth narrative, the units that are stuck in slow-growth markets with a smaller slice of the pie. These are the Dogs, and honestly, they require careful management because they can tie up capital without delivering significant returns. The strategy here is usually to minimize exposure or divest, as expensive turnarounds rarely pay off in these low-momentum areas.

The evidence for this quadrant within Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) comes from specific brand performance and asset valuations. For instance, the meta-search brand, KAYAK, clearly signaled distress in the third quarter of 2025. This brand, which operates in a highly competitive and mature search environment, required a significant write-down, reflecting a reduced expectation of future cash flows. It's a clear signal that market share defense or growth in that specific segment is proving costly.

We can see the pressure points clearly when we look at the numbers associated with these lower-performing units:

• - KAYAK, the meta-search brand, which took a $457 million goodwill impairment charge in Q3 2025.
• - Rentalcars.com, showing very low growth in rental car days at just 2.1% YoY in Q3 2025, booking 23 million car rental days.
• - Legacy Priceline opaque products, which face structural headwinds against transparent, real-time booking.
• - Brands operating in mature, low-growth markets where BKNG lacks a clear competitive edge.

To put the scale of the overall business in context against these specific weak spots, here's a quick look at the Q3 2025 results, which helps frame the relative weight of the Dogs:

The impairment charge on KAYAK is particularly telling. That $457 million non-cash hit is the company formally admitting that the value they assigned to that asset-its reputation and market position-is significantly lower than what's on the books. That's money tied up in an asset that isn't performing to expectations, which is the textbook definition of a cash trap in the Dog quadrant. It's almost like they're trying to find savings internally to perfectly offset the kind of value destruction they just recognized with KAYAK.

Furthermore, the low growth in car rentals points to a segment struggling to keep pace with the core accommodation business. While total room nights grew by 8%, the car rental days growth was only 2.1%. This disparity suggests that even as travelers bundle more services, the car rental component, perhaps through Rentalcars.com, isn't capturing that increased demand effectively, or the market itself is flatlining.

You've got to watch these areas because they consume management focus and capital that could otherwise be poured into the Stars or Question Marks. The reality is, these units often break even or consume cash slowly, but they represent stranded assets. For instance, the Priceline opaque products are fighting a losing battle against the transparency that Booking.com and others champion; that structural headwind means growth is inherently capped.

Here are the key characteristics of these Dog-like units within Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) as of late 2025:

• - Significant asset write-downs indicating lost future value.
• - Growth rates substantially below the company's overall average growth of 14% in Gross Bookings.
• - Operating in segments where the competitive advantage is eroding due to market transparency.
• - Requiring ongoing, but likely inefficient, marketing spend to maintain minimal market share.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) - BCG Matrix: Question Marks

The following represent business units within Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) that align with the Question Marks quadrant, characterized by high market growth prospects but currently holding a low relative market share, thus consuming significant cash for investment.

• - Agoda, operating in the high-growth Asia-Pacific region, where room night growth in Q2-2025 was double-digit, compared to high single-digit growth in Europe and low single-digit growth in the United States. Accommodation Booking in Asia-Pacific is projected to increase by 20% in 2025.
• - OpenTable, a market leader in a smaller, non-core vertical with industry growth around 8% year-over-year in 2025. Experiential dining bookings increased 27% year-over-year in 2024, with 42% of Americans showing increased interest for 2025.
• - The nascent flight booking vertical, which is high-growth, evidenced by a 44% growth last quarter (Q2 2025), with gross flight bookings increasing by 33% in Q2 2025. The company sold 50 million airline tickets in 2024.
• - New technology investments, like AI-driven tools, which have high potential but require significant, unproven marketing spend. Booking Holdings plans to reinvest approximately $170 million into strategic priorities including AI capabilities in 2025. The company is targeting annual run-rate cost savings of $400 million to $450 million from its transformation program.

The multi-vertical 'Connected Trip' initiative, which ties these services together, achieved annual growth exceeding 30% and holds a low double-digit market share for its combined booking service as of 2025.

Multi-vertical bookings grew by 30% and represent a low double-digit percentage of overall bookings.