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TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q3 2025 revenue was $553M (+4% YoY) with GAAP diluted EPS $0.43 and non‑GAAP diluted EPS $0.65; Adjusted EBITDA was $123M (22.2% margin) .
  • Versus S&P Global consensus, non‑GAAP EPS beat ($0.65 vs $0.55*) while revenue modestly missed ($553M vs $562.6M*); S&P EBITDA consensus was below the company’s reported Adjusted EBITDA (S&P “EBITDA” $94M* vs company “Adjusted EBITDA” $123M) — note definitional differences*.
  • Management announced an operating model reset to unify experiences across Tripadvisor and Viator and expects at least $85M in annualized gross cost savings (majority realized in 2026, fully by 2027); restructuring charges of ~$35–$40M are expected, largely in Q4 2025 .
  • FY25 revenue growth guidance lowered to 3%–4% from 5%–7%, Adjusted EBITDA margin maintained at 16%–18%; Q4 outlook: consolidated revenue approximately flat YoY, Adjusted EBITDA margin ~11%–13% .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Viator growth and profitability: revenue $294M (+9% YoY), experiences bookings ~6.6M (+18% YoY), GBV ~$1.3B (+15% YoY); Adjusted EBITDA $50M (16.8% margin) reflecting marketing efficiency and repeat bookings strength .
  • TheFork outperformance: revenue $63M (+28% YoY; +20% cc) and Adjusted EBITDA $14M (21.9% margin), with growing B2B subscription mix and product innovation (AI booking assistant) .
  • Clear strategic pivot to an experiences‑led and AI‑enabled operating model: “The shift in our operating model…positions Tripadvisor Group as an experiences‑led and AI‑enabled company.” — CEO Matt Goldberg ; “We will be launching an annualized gross cost savings program of $85M…” — CFO Mike Noonan .

What Went Wrong

  • Brand Tripadvisor pressure: revenue $235M (‑8% YoY), segment Adjusted EBITDA $59M (25.3% margin vs 33.9% last year), with accelerating traffic headwinds in free channels impacting branded hotels (‑5% YoY) and media (‑11% YoY) .
  • Consolidated marketing deleverage: marketing expense was $227M (41.1% of revenue), +150 bps YoY, driven by Brand Tripadvisor mixing to paid amid traffic headwinds .
  • FY revenue guide lowered: management now expects FY25 consolidated revenue growth of 3%–4% (from 5%–7% previously), citing persistent traffic headwinds while maintaining margin guidance .

Financial Results

Consolidated Results and Estimate Comparison

MetricQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025Q3 2025 Consensusvs Consensus
Revenue ($M)$398 $529 $553 $562.6*Miss (~$9.6M)*
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$(0.08) $0.28 $0.43
Non‑GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$0.14 $0.46 $0.65 $0.55*Beat ($0.10)*
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$44 $107 $123
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)11.0% 20.2% 22.2%
Cash from Operations ($M)$102 $202 $45
Free Cash Flow ($M, Non‑GAAP)$83 $177 $26
EBITDA (S&P Global definition, $M)$94*$115.5*Miss (~$21.5M)*

Values marked with * were retrieved from S&P Global.

Year-over-Year Comparison (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)

MetricQ3 2024Q3 2025YoY Change
Revenue ($M)$532 $553 +4%
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$0.27 $0.43 +59%
Non‑GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$0.50 $0.65 +30%
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$122 $123 ~0%

Segment Breakdown

SegmentQ1 2025 Revenue ($M)Q2 2025 Revenue ($M)Q3 2025 Revenue ($M)Q1 2025 Adj. EBITDA ($M)Q2 2025 Adj. EBITDA ($M)Q3 2025 Adj. EBITDA ($M)
Brand Tripadvisor$219 $242 $235 $64.9 $65.9 $59.2
Viator$156 $270 $294 $(17.6) $32.3 $49.5
TheFork$46 $54 $63 $(3.5) $8.8 $13.8
Intersegment Eliminations$(23) $(37) $(39)

KPIs

KPIQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Viator Experiences Bookings (M, YoY %)5.0 (+15%) ~6.2 (+15%) ~6.6 (+18%)
Viator GBV ($B, YoY %)~$1.1 (+10%) ~$1.3 (+13%) ~$1.3 (+15%)
Viator Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)(11.3%) 11.9% 16.8%
TheFork Total Bookings (YoY %)+5% +9% +11%

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Consolidated Revenue GrowthFY 20255%–7% 3%–4% Lowered
Consolidated Adj. EBITDA MarginFY 202516%–18% 16%–18% Maintained
Consolidated RevenueQ4 2025~Flat YoY New
Consolidated Adj. EBITDA MarginQ4 2025~11%–13% New
Viator Bookings GrowthQ4 2025~16%–18% New
Viator Adj. EBITDA MarginQ4 2025~100 bps lower YoY due to prior one‑time credit; +~200 bps ex one‑time Clarified
Brand Tripadvisor RevenueQ4 2025Low‑teens decline New
TheFork Revenue GrowthQ4 2025Mid‑teens; ~10 pp currency benefit New
Gross Cost Savings (Annualized)Program (2026–2027)≥$85M; majority in 2026; fully by 2027 New
Restructuring ChargesQ4 2025–2026~$35–$40M, primarily Q4 2025 New
Q4 Adj. EBITDA Benefit from SavingsQ4 2025~+$10M New

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q1 & Q2 2025)Current Period (Q3 2025)Trend
Experiences strategyQ2: Deepening coordination across TripAdvisor and Viator in marketing/product/supply; early tests improved efficiency and conversion . Q1 release emphasized marketplace growth .Formal operating model reset; unify experiences under one team; resegmentation to Experiences/Hotels & Other/TheFork .Accelerating
AI initiativesQ2: AI embedded across products (TripAdvisor search, Viator relevance, TheFork conversational AI) and enterprise productivity; partnerships with emerging AI platforms .“AI‑native” approach; imminent AI planning MVP in Q4; TripAdvisor & TheFork ChatGPT apps; multiple licensing deals; focus on agentic/multimodal AI .Accelerating
Brand Tripadvisor headwindsQ2: Free traffic headwinds persisted; hotel meta pricing strong but offset by traffic declines .Traffic headwinds accelerated; revenue fell 8%; media ‑11%; managed for margin not low‑margin growth .Worsening
Viator profitability & repeatQ2: Margin improvement via more efficient marketing and repeat/app growth .Margin +550 bps YoY; direct and repeat bookings scaling; 3P bookings carry attractive profitability and no marketing spend .Improving
TheFork B2B & partnershipsQ2: B2B revenue >2x; Vodafone & Mastercard partnerships .Continued B2B mix shift; AI booking assistant; consideration of portfolio options while executing .Improving
Capital allocationQ2: $40M buybacks at $14.22/share; $160M authorization remaining .Plan to restart programmatic repurchases in Q4, subject to macro; ~$160M authorization remaining .Resuming
Segment reportingReorg to Experiences, Hotels & Other, TheFork; eliminates certain intersegment eliminations .Updating

Management Commentary

  • “Our portfolio mix is now anchored in high‑growth marketplaces, which now represent nearly 60% of our revenue and 30% of our profit over the last twelve months.” — CEO Matt Goldberg .
  • “We will be launching an annualized gross cost savings program of $85 million in Q4…executed throughout 2026 and…fully realized by 2027.” — CFO Mike Noonan .
  • “Tripadvisor is already among the most cited sources by LLMs…number eight overall and the only travel company in the top 20…We will…shift our focus from AI‑powered features to a fully AI‑native approach.” — CEO Matt Goldberg .
  • “At Brand Tripadvisor…we experienced stronger‑than‑anticipated traffic headwinds that accelerated throughout the quarter, negatively affecting both free and paid channels.” — CFO Mike Noonan .
  • “Together with Tripadvisor, [Viator] is the category’s largest, most trusted, and most profitable platform…We believe we can accelerate off [GBV $4.6B and 17% items growth LTM].” — CEO Matt Goldberg .

Q&A Highlights

  • Growth vs margin in Experiences: Management believes the new operating model allows both re‑accelerated growth and margin expansion; leadership claim on scale (400k experiences, 65k operators) and trust, with GBV $4.6B LTM and items growth 17% .
  • New user and geo expansion: Disciplined new user acquisition ROI; leverage TripAdvisor’s strong European brand/traffic to grow efficiently in new markets .
  • Go‑to‑market brand positioning: Both Tripadvisor and Viator will operate; leading brand may vary by market/category with increased cross‑sell from hotels/restaurants into experiences .
  • Legacy meta approach: Maintain product quality but deprioritize incremental investment given SEO headwinds; manage for profitability .
  • Share repurchases: Expect to restart open‑market repurchases in Q4 under programmatic approach, $160M authorization remaining .

Estimates Context

  • Q3 2025 primary EPS: Actual $0.65 vs consensus $0.55 — beat*.
  • Q3 2025 revenue: Actual $553M vs consensus $562.6M — slight miss*.
  • Q3 2025 EBITDA (S&P Global definition): Actual $94M vs consensus $115.5M — miss; note company reports Adjusted EBITDA of $123M (definitions differ) *.
  • Target price consensus mean: $17.63*.
  • EPS and revenue estimate counts: 14 for both*.
    Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Implications: Expect consensus to reflect lowered FY revenue growth (3%–4%) and Q4 segment dynamics (Brand Tripadvisor declines, Experiences acceleration); margin expectations likely stable given maintained FY margin guidance .

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • The narrative pivot is decisive: unified experiences operating model, resegmentation, and AI‑native strategy should be the principal multiple drivers into 2026; near‑term costs are a setup for medium‑term growth and margin leverage .
  • Experiences is compounding: bookings +18%, GBV +15%, margin +550 bps YoY; mix shift to direct/repeat and 3P merchant (no marketing spend) strengthens unit economics .
  • Brand Tripadvisor headwinds remain the key drag: anticipate continued revenue pressure and Q4 margin step‑down; focus is profitability over low‑margin growth .
  • FY guide reset lowers top‑line expectations but preserves margin; Q4 flat revenue and 11%–13% margin with ~$10M savings benefit — watch execution of savings and experiences acceleration .
  • Cash/authorization provide flexibility: $1.2B cash and expected buyback restart ($160M remaining) can support programmatic repurchases, contingent on macro .
  • Monitor AI deliverables: Q4 launch of planning MVP and embedded apps/licensing deals could unlock new demand funnels and monetization channels .
  • 2026 setup: ≥$85M gross savings to be executed through 2026 and fully realized by 2027, plus experiences TAM/geographic expansion; margin improvement of ~100 bps preliminarily indicated for 2026 .