Tripadvisor Inc (TRIP) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Growth in Viator and TheFork ...

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Q4 2024 Revenue: $411 million, a 5% growth.
Q4 2024 Adjusted EBITDA: $73 million, 18% of revenue.
Full Year 2024 Revenue: $1.8 billion.
Full Year 2024 Adjusted EBITDA: $339 million.
Viator Revenue Q4 2024: $186 million, 16% growth.
Viator Gross Bookings Value (GBV) Q4 2024: Approximately $840 million, 17% growth.
TheFork Revenue Q4 2024: $48 million, 23% growth.
Brand Tripadvisor Revenue Q4 2024: $204 million, a decline of 6%.
Brand Tripadvisor Adjusted EBITDA Q4 2024: $53 million, 26% of revenue.
Full Year 2024 Viator and TheFork Revenue Contribution: 56% of Group revenue.
Q4 2024 Operating Cash Flow: Negative $2 million.
Q4 2024 Free Cash Flow: Negative $25 million.
Full Year 2024 Operating Cash Flow: $144 million.
Full Year 2024 Free Cash Flow: $7 million.
Cash and Cash Equivalents at Year-End 2024: Approximately $1.1 billion.

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Release Date: February 20, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) exceeded expectations on both top and bottom lines for Q4 and the full year 2024, with consolidated revenue growing 5% to $411 million.
Viator and TheFork segments contributed more than half of the company's revenue, delivering $52 million of incremental adjusted EBITDA versus the prior year.
Viator's direct booking volume grew nearly 30% for the full year, with the mobile app being the fastest-growing channel, showing an 80% increase in booking volume.
TheFork segment achieved full-year profitability for the first time, with revenue growing 18% to $181 million.
Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) is leveraging AI and data to enhance product offerings and improve customer experience, positioning itself for future growth.

Negative Points

Brand Tripadvisor's revenue declined by 6% in Q4, with branded hotels revenue decreasing by 7%.
The experiences and dining revenue segment saw an 8% decline, reflecting challenges in balancing product-led transitions.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin showed modest deleverage, indicating pressure on profitability.
Operating cash flow was negative $2 million in Q4, with free cash flow also negative, highlighting cash management challenges.
The company faces FX headwinds, particularly impacting Viator's revenue due to euro-denominated business.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you discuss the factors driving Viator's growth, particularly in terms of product improvements and conversion rates? A: Matthew Goldberg, President and CEO, explained that Viator's growth is driven by a focus on product enhancements, marketing efficiencies, and expanding the supply catalog. They are improving user experience (UX), search, and product matching to drive repeat traffic and conversion. The app, which is a significant channel for direct and repeat traffic, is also being enhanced. Additionally, they are leveraging AI to improve search and sorting, and expanding into secondary and tertiary markets.

Q: How does Airbnb's entry into the experiences category impact Viator, and what are the expectations for Viator's margins in 2025? A: Matthew Goldberg noted that Airbnb's entry highlights the category's growth potential and increases awareness, which could benefit Viator. He emphasized Viator's strong positioning with the largest scale supply and the advantage of being a focused OTA. Michael Noonan, CFO, mentioned that while they haven't provided specific margin guidance, they expect Viator's adjusted EBITDA to nearly double, indicating margin expansion despite FX headwinds.

Q: Can you elaborate on Tripadvisor's membership growth and the funding of rewards? A: Matthew Goldberg stated that membership has grown significantly, with over 130 million members. The membership program focuses on engagement and providing value through cross-category bookings and rewards. The rewards are funded by Tripadvisor and are designed to increase repeat usage and loyalty.

Q: What changes are expected after resolving Tripadvisor's ownership structure, and how will it impact the business? A: Matthew Goldberg explained that resolving the ownership structure will simplify Tripadvisor's capital structure, remove overhangs, and provide more strategic flexibility. It will allow Tripadvisor to pursue its vision and strategy without limitations from a controlling shareholder, enabling opportunities for organic investments and M&A.

Q: How is Tripadvisor leveraging AI, and what are the details of the partnerships with Perplexity and OpenAI? A: Matthew Goldberg highlighted Tripadvisor's focus on AI to enhance product innovation and customer service. The partnership with Perplexity aims to leverage AI for an AI-first funnel, providing high-intent traffic and improved conversion. The collaboration with OpenAI is intended to position Tripadvisor favorably as AI evolves, focusing on long-term positioning and traffic growth.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

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