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Priceline (PCLN) Stock Soars After Crushing Earnings

By U.S. News & World Report

Priceline Group (ticker: PCLN), the largest online travel booking company in the world, announced second-quarter results on Thursday that cruised past consensus earnings estimates and were roughly in line with expected revenue. PCLN stock quickly gained more than 4 percent in after-hours trading on the news.

Adjusted earnings per share rose 12 percent from the same quarter last year, coming in at $13.93, as revenue also grew 12 percent to $2.56 billion.

Analysts were expecting EPS of $12.69 on revenue of $2.58 billion.

Priceline itself had previously guided for revenue growth between 7 and 14 percent in the second quarter, expecting adjusted EPS between $11.60 and $12.50. Wall Street is clearly happy that Priceline exceeded even its own expectations.

[Read: Should Health Care Work Like Priceline?]

Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company guided for revenue growth between 12 and 19 percent and for adjusted EPS between $28.30 and $29.80. Analysts had been looking for EPS of $28.99 on revenue growth of 15.1 percent, which means the midpoints in Priceline’s third-quarter guidance — 15.5 percent revenue growth and EPS of $29.05 — were each slightly better than expected.

In the second quarter, gross travel bookings, which measures the total dollar value of all travel services Priceline sold, rose 19 percent to $17.9 billion.

“The Priceline Group executed another strong quarter as we witnessed a solid start to the summer travel season,” company chairman and interim CEO Jeffery H. Boyd says. “Globally, our accommodation business booked 141 million room nights in the second quarter, up 24 percent over the same period last year.”

Boyd, who as the company’s CEO between 2002 and 2013 oversaw a decade of tremendous growth, stepped back into the role on an interim basis in April, after former Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston resigned following an internal investigation that revealed an inappropriate relationship he had with a co-worker.

The search for a permanent successor is still underway, but Boyd is a more-than-capable leader in the meantime.

Big picture. K C Ma, professor of finance at Stetson University, thinks that PCLN differentiates itself from “lesser-performing” peers like Expedia (EXPE), Orbitz, and Travelocity through its stake in China’s Ctrip.com International (CTRP).

“After Expedia’s failure to compete in China in 2011, Priceline moved in with a clever strategy by first offering Ctrip access to American hotel listings through Booking.com, a subsidiary of Priceline. After $1 billion invested, today Priceline owns a 15 percent stake in Ctrip,” which is considered a high-growth player in today’s global travel industry, Ma says.

[Read: How to Invest in China’s Changing Economy.]

It’s not hard to see where Ctrip gets that reputation. First-quarter revenue at the China-based online travel company jumped 80 percent.

A new era. The days of meteoric growth for Priceline are probably in the rearview mirror. Priceline is in a more mature phase of its company life cycle, but the period of hypergrowth it once experienced can still be seen by anyone who chances to look at the PCLN stock price.

Priceline, which closed around $1,360 per share on Thursday, boasts the highest share price of any company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. AutoZone (AZO), at $808 a pop, doesn’t even come close.

The reason Priceline’s stock is so pricey, of course, is because the company figured out how to do online travel — and do it well — early in the game. Priceline has also refused to lower its share price through stock splits; in 10 years, PCLN stock has posted gains just shy of 5,000 percent.

Priceline’s gains in 2016 have been more muted, with shares up about 6.7 percent this year going into Thursday’s report.

The Priceline Group, whose mission is to “help people experience the world,” operates primarily through six brands: Booking.com, priceline.com, Kayak, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable.

[Read: Tesla Earnings Disappoint, but Future Looks Bright.]

And while the years of “hypergrowth” may be gone, Priceline’s blowout second-quarter earnings make it clear that PCLN can still be one of the highest-flying travel stocks around.

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Priceline (PCLN) Stock Soars After Crushing Earnings originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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