Expedia Inc. shares soared to their highest value in seven years after first-quarter results beat analysts' expectations.
According to Bloomberg, Expedia's stock was the best performer on Friday in Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
The results were driven by 37% increase in room nights at Expedia's Hotels.com brand, contributing to a 24% total increase in hotel bookings.
Expedia reported a loss of $3.2 million in the quarter, but revenue increased 12%, to $816.4 million.
Tom White, an analyst with Macquarie Capital, called Expedia's results a "good start to the year" and cited "the re-acceleration of [Expedia's] hotel business" as the key positive of the quarter.
"Expedia deserves credit for executing well in hotels, and particularly so in the U.S., where increased competition from large chains and [Priceline] loom but are not disrupting performance," White said. "We still have concerns about [Expedia's] exposure to the U.S. market, but [Expedia's first quarter] clearly shows that there is upside to the model this year if the company can continue to execute."
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