Booking Holdings (BKNG) Benefited from Strong Travel Spending and Share Buybacks

Wedgewood Partners, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, Wedgewood Composite’s net return was 7.1% compared to the Standard & Poor’s 10.9%, the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s 17.8%, and the Russell 1000 Value Index’s 3.8% return for the same period. In addition, you can check the fund’s best 5 holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Wedgewood Partners highlighted stocks such as Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG). Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides online travel and restaurant booking services. The one-month return of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was 7.16%, and its shares gained 43.27% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 17, 2025, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock closed at $5,683.94 per share with a market capitalization of $184.957 billion.

Wedgewood Partners stated the following regarding Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) contributed to performance as travel spending across the Company’s core ex-U.S. markets, particularly Europe, remained healthy. The Company also continues to take share in alternative accommodations. The Company is on track to expand margins after a few years of reinvestment. Over the past several years, Booking has been aggressively reducing its share count at what we think have been attractive multiples, helping compound earnings at a solid, double-digit clip.”

A fast-paced travel agent making a bookings for a family vacation package.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 102 hedge fund portfolios held Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) at the end of the first quarter, which was 99 in the previous quarter. In the first quarter Booking Holdings Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BKNG) revenue increased 8% to $4.8 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of BKNG as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) and shared the list of best large cap stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.