Priceline.com (PCLN) Hits an Earnings Home Run

I can't fight this feeling that.... I've totally whiffed when it comes to our holding in Priceline.com (PCLN).  Much like Baidu (BIDU) we had a great entry point early last spring, then took profit on a trade... and simple never went back in as we await some sort of pullback.  Our twins of missed opportunity.

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $3.45 per share, $0.53 better than the First Call consensus of $2.92; revenues rose 30.1% year/year to $730.7 mln vs the $694 mln consensus.


• Gross bookings were $2.7 billion, up 32.8% year over year.
  
  


• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.52-1.62 vs. $1.49 consensus. Year-over-year increase in total gross travel bookings of approximately 30% - 40%; Year-over-year increase in international gross travel bookings of approximately 50% - 60% (an increase of approximately 37% - 46% on a local currency basis); Year-over-year increase in domestic gross travel bookings of approximately 15%; Year-over-year increase in revenue of approximately 24% to 28%; Year-over-year increase in gross profit of approximately 40% to 45%; Pro forma EBITDA of approximately $98 million to $108 million.

• Priceline.com late Monday once again released quarterly results that soared far above analyst estimates, led by fast growth overseas. The company said its business was unusually strong this past summer. This was during perhaps the biggest global economic downturn since the Great Depression. But name-your-price Priceline's thing is low prices.


• "Priceline is hitting all the right buttons," said Kaufman Bros. analyst Aaron Kessler. "Every facet of their business is executing well."


• The company said gross travel bookings, the value of all travel services bought, soared 32.8% to $2.7 billion. Gross domestic bookings rose 24.9%, while international gross bookings jumped 37.8%. "They have been leading the online travel industry in executing their international expansion strategy."


• Boyd said global hotel room night reservations grew by 56% in the third quarter, with strong performance in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Airline tickets sales rose 30.2%. Rental car days booked rose 11.6%.


• Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney said in a report last week that the number of unique U.S. visitors to Priceline.com surged 48% in the quarter compared with the year-earlier quarter and jumped 33% from the prior quarter. He says traffic to Priceline's Booking.com site, which books hotel rooms in Europe, jumped 52% from a year earlier and 29% from the prior quarter.  (wow!)  "This level of traffic growth is particularly impressive given the current economic environment," Mahaney wrote.


• Mahaney says consumers led the surge. "Leisure travel -- unlike corporate travel -- is price elastic, and the recession has drawn more consumers to the Internet and to Priceline for the best deals," he wrote.  (bingo)