Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN, Financial) will release its first quarter 2014 earnings report at 7:00 a.m., EST, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. A webcast conference call available through Priceline Investor Relations is slated to begin at 7:30 a.m., EST.
Analysts Expect:
- EPS ranging from $6.44 to $8.10 with a target of $6.91 (Source: Fidelity).
- Revenue ranging from $1.56 billion to $1.71 billion with a target of $1.63 billion.
Performance Recap
Priceline remains No. 1 for customers who want to book their own hotel, flight and car reservations online. Due to the cyclical nature of the travel industry, Priceline’s revenue fluctuates during the year.
| Revenue | Q1 2014 | Q4 2013 | Q3 2013 | Q2 2013 |
| Estimate | $1.63B | $1.5B | $2.2B | $1.7B |
| Actual | Ă‚ | $1.5B | $2.3B | $1.7B |
| Difference | Ă‚ | +0.00 | +100M | +0.00 |
Priceline has a habit of beating the Street’s EPS estimates. Comparing fourth quarter 2013 EPS to the same quarter for the prior year shows that the EPS grew 26.82%. Comparing the annual EPS for the current year to the previous year shows that Priceline’s EPS increased by 24.43%.
| EPS | Q1 2014 | Q4 2013 | Q3 2013 | Q2 2013 |
| Estimate | $6.91 | $8.29 | $16.15 | $9.36 |
| Actual | Ă‚ | $ 8.85 | $ 17.30 | $ 9.70 |
| Difference | Ă‚ | +0.56 | +1.15 | +0.34 |
Competitors
Priceline’s primary competitors are Expedia (EXPE, Financial), Orbitz (OWW, Financial) and TravelZoo (TZOO). Expedia’s earnings, announced on May 1, 2014, exceeded analyst expectations by coming in at $1.20 billion. Analysts will be watching Priceline’s performance this quarter to see how it compares with Expedia.
| Ă‚ | PCLN | EXPE | OWW | TZOO |
| Price | $1,185.66 | $71.82 | $7.29 | $17.87 |
| Total Revenue | $1.5B | $1.2B | $210M | $40M |
| EPS (TTM) | $36.11 | $2.32 | $0.11 | ($0.38) |
| Projected EPS Growth Next Yr | 23.32% | 17.32% | 36.01% | 15.69% |
Trade Considerations
Of the 10 major analysts, four rate Priceline as hold, four rate it as buy and two rate the stock as outperform. Priceline’s stock price doubled from last year and the company has been in a solid uptrend since October 2012. The stock broke through the $1,350 barrier in March this year and has been consolidating slowly in a downward move ever since. The stock currently finds support at $1,150 and resistance at $1,250. If Priceline’s earnings exceed analysts’ expectations, it could be enough to kick-start the company’s upward trend.
Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in this article and have no plans to open a position in the next 72 hours.
