Tripadvisor Posts Solid Q4 and 2019 Results

NEEDHAM, MA—Tripadvisor Inc. has reported financial results for Q4 and full year ended Dec. 31, 2019, citing steady revenue results and a net income increase.

“As previewed last quarter, we have taken action in a number of important areas,” said CEO Steve Kaufer. “We grew revenue outside our hotel auction; we have adjusted our cost structure to preserve strong profitability; and we returned more capital to shareholders. We repositioned our flagship Tripadvisor brand, and we reorganized internally to align with customer-focused initiatives to deepen customer engagement on our platform, which we believe will lead to increased monetization over time.”

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Operational and Financial Highlights:

  • Q4 total revenue was $335 million, a 3% decrease year-over-year. Full year total revenue was $1.560 billion, a 3% decrease year-over-year. Tripadvisor estimates that changes in foreign currency had a 1% negative impact on total revenue growth in Q4 and a 2% negative impact on total revenue growth in the full year of 2019
  • Q4 GAAP net income grew 114% to $15 million and full year GAAP net income grew 12% to $126 million
  • Q4 non-GAAP net income grew 39% to $53 million and full year non-GAAP net income grew 4% to $250 million
  • Q4 total adjusted EBITDA was $92 million, a 6% increase year-over-year, and Q4 total adjusted EBITDA margin was 27%, a two percentage point increase year-over-year. Tripadvisor estimates that excluding year-over-year changes in foreign currency total adjusted EBITDA grew approximately 7% year-over-year. Full year total adjusted EBITDA was $438 million, a 4% increase year-over-year, and full year total adjusted EBITDA margin was 28%, a two percentage point increase year-over-year. Tripadvisor estimates that excluding year-over-year changes in foreign currency total adjusted EBITDA grew approximately 7% year-over-year

CFO Ernst Teunissen added, “2019 finished generally in line with our expectations outlined in November. We believe our revenue growth outside of our hotel auction, as well as cost-saving measures, can preserve strong profitability moving forward. In Q4, we returned $548 million of capital to shareholders through a special dividend and share buyback. In addition to our previously announced strategic partnership with Trip.com Group Limited, in Q4 we also closed two acquisitions that further bolster our fast-growing Restaurants offering.”