What it does
Booking Holdings states that its mission is to make it easier for people to experience the world. It provides online services that connect travelers with travel-service-provider partners through five consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable. The company’s offerings span accommodations, ground transportation, flights, activities, restaurants, and meta-search, although availability differs by brand. The filing describes Booking.com as offering accommodation reservations as well as flights, tours and activities, rental cars, and ground transportation; KAYAK provides travel meta-search; and OpenTable provides restaurant reservations and restaurant management services.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
How it makes money
The company states that it derives substantially all revenue from online travel reservation services that facilitate purchases between travelers and travel providers. For the year ended December 31, 2025, it reported revenues of $26.9 billion. As shown in the segment table below, the company classifies revenue as merchant, agency, and advertising and other revenue. Merchant revenue generally arises when it facilitates traveler payments, while agency revenue consists almost entirely of commissions on Booking.com accommodation reservations where it does not facilitate payment. Advertising and other revenue includes KAYAK referrals and advertising, OpenTable reservation and subscription fees, and advertising placements by other brands.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Customers and geography
The filing refers to travelers as consumers and travel service providers as partners. Its partner base includes travel service providers and restaurants, while its platforms serve consumers seeking travel or restaurant reservations. The company operates globally: Booking.com had accommodation services for approximately 4.4 million properties in over 220 countries and territories and in over 40 languages at December 31, 2025. Priceline operates primarily in North America, Agoda caters primarily to Asia-Pacific consumers, and OpenTable operates primarily in the United States. KAYAK offers services in over 60 countries and territories. The filing also identifies Asia and the U.S. as key geographies for investment and brand awareness efforts.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Competition
The company states that it competes globally with online and traditional travel and restaurant reservation-related services, in markets it characterizes as intensely competitive and constantly evolving. The filing does not name individual competitor companies. Instead, it lists categories that include online travel, restaurant reservation, and meta-search services; large online search, social media, and marketplace companies; travel providers such as hotels, airlines, and rental-car companies; Gen AI-powered assistant and agent providers; traditional travel agencies and tour operators; financial services and credit-card companies; and software and technology providers serving travel businesses. It also states that large global technology companies may have more consumers, consumer data, and resources.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Key risks
The filing’s risk-factor headings and opening statements identify the following risks:
- Declines or disruptions in the travel industry could adversely affect its business and financial performance.
- Alternative-accommodation rules and regulations could limit or negatively affect owners’ and managers’ ability to rent properties.
- Processing, storing, using, and disclosing personal data exposes the company to data-breach, liability, and reputational risks.
- The company may have exposure to additional tax liabilities.
- Competition, consumer-protection, and online-commerce laws and regulations may bring intensified scrutiny.
- Global financial conditions and events could materially and negatively affect liquidity, credit ratings, and access to capital.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1A — sec.gov
People and operations
As of December 31, 2025, the company employed approximately 24,300 employees. The filing states that approximately 2,900 were based in the United States and approximately 21,400 were outside the United States, and that approximately 97% were full-time employees. Its systems infrastructure and web and database servers are hosted in data centers in Europe, Asia, and North America. The company notes seasonal timing effects: accommodation check-ins in Europe and North America are generally highest in the third quarter and lowest in the first quarter. It states that this timing typically results in its highest profitability in the third quarter and lowest profitability in the first quarter.
Source: Booking Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov