Booking Holdings Stock: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG), a global leader in online travel and related services, maintains a market cap of $160.6 billion. The company's portfolio of platforms, such as Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable, employs AI, machine learning, and other technologies to streamline and personalize the travel experience.

However, BKNG stock has underperformed the broader market over the past year, declining 6.3% compared to the S&P 500 Index's 18.7% gain. Additionally, the stock has fallen slightly year-to-date, whereas the S&P 500 has increased 12.2%. Despite this underperformance, BKNG shares experienced a 6.6% increase following its Q2 2026 results on August 4, surpassing analyst expectations with adjusted EPS of $2.54.

This growth was driven by strong domestic and intraregional travel demand, even amidst Middle East-related disruptions. The company also reported that its AI investments are yielding positive returns, and customer service costs per booking continue to decline at a double-digit rate. However, Booking Holdings has lowered its 2026 gross bookings growth forecast to low double digits, attributing this to reduced travel to the Middle East, global flight route constraints, and higher airfares.

For the fiscal year ending December 2026, analysts anticipate adjusted EPS growth of 14.8% year-over-year to $10.47. With a 37-strong analyst consensus rating of Strong Buy, predominantly based on 25 Strong Buy ratings, 2 Moderate Buys, and 10 Holds, the mean price target stands at $236.41, representing a 10.9% premium over BKNG's current price.

The Street-high price target of $301 suggests a potential 41.2% upside. Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney recently raised BKNG's price target to $270, maintaining an Outperform rating.