- Up in after hours trading yesterday thanks to Expedia's earnings, TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) has added to its gains after posting a Q4 beat fueled by strong non-click based (metasearch ad) revenue growth. Expectations were low following a market selloff and November's guidance cut.
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Top-line performance: While click-based ad revenue fell 1% Y/Y to $180M, display ad revenue rose 17% to $42M, and subscription, transaction & other revenue (includes Instant Booking) rose 23% to $87M. Hotel segment revenue rose just 4% Y/Y to $260M; Other segment revenue rose 32% to $49M. North America was 53% of revenue, EMEA 29%, Asia-Pac 13%, and Latin America 5%.
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Financials: Not counting a $67M non-cash charitable contribution, GAAP operating expenses rose 17% Y/Y to $267M, with sales/marketing spend accounting for $145M. Free cash flow was $58M in Q4 (+61% Y/Y), and $273M in 2015 (-11%). TripAdvisor ended 2015 with $698M in cash/investments and $201M in debt.
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Metrics: Average monthly unique users were flat Q/Q at 350M. Mobile app downloads rose by 60M Q/Q to 290M, and 53% of total unique users accessed via mobile devices. User reviews/opinions rose by 30M Q/Q to 320M.
- On its earnings call, TripAdvisor said it would no longer provide revenue and EBITDA guidance. The company cautioned Hotel segment growth would remain "muted" in 2016 before improving in 2017, and that expenses are likely to grow faster than revenue.
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TripAdvisor's Q4 results, earnings release