BKNG vs EXPE: How Booking Holdings and Expedia Group Compare (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
BKNG is the larger of the two ($141.52B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (14.85x forward earnings, beta 1.09). EXPE is the smaller challenger ($32.51B), cheaper on forward earnings (11.72x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
BKNG vs EXPE: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | BKNG | EXPE | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $141.52B | $32.51B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 14.85 | 11.72 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 24.09 | 23.92 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.09 | 1.23 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 39% of range | 75% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: EXPE is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how BKNG and EXPE affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. BKNG and EXPE share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined BKNG and EXPE exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Booking Holdings (BKNG) do?
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services. The company operates five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com (accommodation and travel reservations), Priceline (discount travel), Agoda (Asia-Pacific focused travel), KAYAK (travel search and comparison), and OpenTable (restaurant reservations and management). It derives revenue primarily from commission-based and merchant-model travel reservation services, along with payment facilitation, advertising, travel insurance offerings, and restaurant management tools, serving consumers and travel partners across more than 220 countries and territories. The merchant model, in which Booking collects payment upfront and remits to the property, has been growing faster than the traditional agency model and represented the majority of revenue in recent quarters.
What does Expedia Group (EXPE) do?
Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE), headquartered in Seattle, is one of the world's largest online travel companies, connecting travelers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, and activities. Its consumer (B2C) business runs a portfolio of brands including Brand Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo (whole-home and vacation rentals), Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, ebookers, and Wotif, while its B2B segment supplies travel inventory and technology to airlines, banks, loyalty programs, and other travel sellers on a white-label and API basis. The company also owns the trivago metasearch business. Expedia earns revenue primarily through merchant and agency booking margins, advertising, and B2B distribution fees, and reported roughly 3.6 million lodging properties across its platforms, including about 2.4 million alternative-accommodation listings through Vrbo.
BKNG vs EXPE: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- BKNG drivers: Durable marketplace network effects; AI and Connected Trip vision.
- EXPE drivers: B2B travel-supply growth; Brand simplification and One Key loyalty.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The most acute downside scenario is a synchronized global recession or major geopolitical event that sharply curtails leisure and business travel, as Booking's revenue is nearly entirely travel-volume-dependent with significant European exposure. For EXPE, expedia's revenue is almost entirely dependent on travel volumes, so a global recession, geopolitical disruption, or renewed travel restrictions would hit gross bookings quickly.
BKNG or EXPE: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick BKNG if you believe its drivers more; EXPE if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the BKNG and EXPE guides.
BKNG vs EXPE: the full fundamentals
BKNG. Booking's trailing P/E has compressed meaningfully from its 10-year median of roughly 31x, sitting in the low-to-mid 20s as of mid-June 2026, which some analytical frameworks flag as modestly below historical fair value for a business growing revenue in the low double digits and expanding margins. The forward P/E of roughly 16x reflects analyst expectations for continued EPS growth in the mid-teens, driven by buybacks and the Transformation Program savings, and looks relatively undemanding for a company with a ~34% free cash flow margin. Investors should weigh this against the possibility that consensus estimates are optimistic if macro conditions weaken or competitive intensity from AI-native platforms accelerates.
EXPE. Expedia converts a very large gross-bookings base (~$119.6 billion in 2025) into roughly $14.7 billion of revenue, reflecting the take-rate economics of an online travel intermediary. Growth in the high single digits trails Booking Holdings, but profitability has been improving as the technology replatforming rolls off and B2B scales. Trailing valuation multiples move with travel sentiment and quarterly bookings, so investors typically weigh the single-digit top-line growth against the faster earnings-per-share growth that buybacks and margin expansion can produce.
Headline figures (approximate, 2026-06-27): BKNG shows revenue (fy2025) ~$26.9 billion, revenue (ttm, as of q1 2026) ~$27.7 billion, adjusted ebitda (fy2025) ~$9.9 billion (~36.9% margin), net income (fy2025) ~$5.4 billion (~20.1% net margin); EXPE shows revenue (fy2025) ~$14.7 billion (up ~8% year over year), revenue (ttm, as of q1 2026) ~$15.2 billion, gross bookings (fy2025) ~$119.6 billion (up ~8% year over year), net income (fy2025) ~$1.3 billion.
The bottom line: BKNG vs EXPE
BKNG and EXPE are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined BKNG and EXPE exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Build a basket around BKNG with Walnut
Use Booking Holdings as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What is the difference between BKNG and EXPE?
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Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services. Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE), headquartered in Seattle, is one of the world's largest online travel companies, connecting travelers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, and activities. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is BKNG or EXPE the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. BKNG is the larger incumbent; EXPE is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, BKNG or EXPE?
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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), BKNG trades at 14.85x and EXPE at 11.72x, so EXPE is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both BKNG and EXPE?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of BKNG vs EXPE?
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BKNG: The most acute downside scenario is a synchronized global recession or major geopolitical event that sharply curtails leisure and business travel, as Booking's revenue is nearly entirely travel-volume-dependent with significant European exposure. AI-native travel assistants backed by large technology platforms (Google, Apple, or emerging startups) could disintermediate traditional online travel agencies by answering and booking trips without a separate platform visit, threatening Booking's customer acquisition economics. Regulatory pressure from the EU's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, along with evolving data-privacy regimes, adds compliance costs and could restrict certain competitive practices that have historically benefited large platforms. Foreign currency headwinds are also a persistent drag, as the bulk of Booking's business is denominated in euros and other non-dollar currencies, while it reports in U.S. dollars. EXPE: Expedia's revenue is almost entirely dependent on travel volumes, so a global recession, geopolitical disruption, or renewed travel restrictions would hit gross bookings quickly. It competes against a larger and faster-growing Booking Holdings, which has generally led on room-night growth and margin, and against Airbnb in the alternative-accommodation category where brand loyalty is strong. A major structural threat is that AI-native travel assistants and Google's travel tools could answer and book trips without sending travelers to Expedia's sites, raising customer acquisition costs or disintermediating the platform entirely. The company also carries meaningful exposure to marketing spend on Google, foreign-currency swings, and execution risk from its ongoing technology and loyalty transitions.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell BKNG or EXPE; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.