CLAIM #10944 · Booking Holdings Inc (BKNG) · 2025Q4 earnings call · Feb 18, 2026 · due Dec 31, 2026
“please note that for 2026, what we have said is that we aim to achieve marketing leverage again unless, of course, we find those really great opportunistic moments that we can lean in again in this year.”
Ewout Steenbergen · CFO
How to check this claim
Look at: Marketing expense as a percentage of revenue (or gross bookings), full-year 2026
It came true if: Marketing expense ratio for FY2026 lower than or equal to FY2025 ratio (marketing leverage achieved)
Where: Company income statement / management commentary on marketing spend as % of revenue (10-K, Q4 2026 earnings call)
In context
“ities we saw in performance marketing, leaning in there with attractive ROIs, there are 2 other reasons. The other reason -- the first other reason is we saw also continued expansion in our social media investments. Some great opportunities there leaning in with some other social media platforms than we were using in the past. So overall, 13% growth in terms of investments in social media marketing. And the third reason is we also had higher brand marketing spend in the fourth quarter. That can always a little bit be lumpy. In 2024, it was mostly centered in the summer around UEFA European Soccer Championship. In 2025, it was more back-ended in the year in terms of brand marketing spend. But overall, this helped us to accelerate our room night growth to 9% in the fourth quarter. And also, please note that for 2026, what we have said is that we aim to achieve marketing leverage again unless, of course, we find those really great opportunistic moments that we can lean in again in this year. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Lee Horowitz with Deutsche Bank. Lee Horowitz: I guess as you roll out agentic capabilities across your properties in the coming months and years, where do you see the greatest economic uplift for bookings from these technologies in terms of how you expect them to change consumer behavior? And relatedly, what should we expect in terms of, say, the product cadence you intend to deliver in terms of getting these agentic experiences into the hands of the consumer in 2026? Glenn Fogel: Lee, so a lot of talk about agentic travel, agentic commerce. You can't almost have a conversation without using the word agentic. So you know what we've been building for a long time. And let me move this into a bigger picture because I've been talking abo”
Verify independently
SEC filings for BKNG ↗ · Claim quote is verbatim from the 2025Q4 earnings call.