Expedia Group Inc. experienced a 12% drop in shares during the extended session on Thursday. The stock decline was attributed to investor concerns surrounding the recent CEO change, overshadowing the company’s strong quarterly performance.
In the fourth quarter, Expedia reported earnings of $132 million, or 92 cents per share, compared to $177 million, or $1.11 per share, in the same period the previous year. Adjusted for one-time items, the company’s earnings were $1.72 per share. Revenue also saw a positive growth of 10%, reaching $2.89 billion. This outperformed analysts’ expectations of adjusted EPS of $1.67 on revenue of $2.87 billion, according to FactSet.
Expedia’s Chief Executive, Peter Kern, expressed confidence in the company’s achievements, stating, “We delivered on our full-year guidance and drove record results, all while completing a massive transformation and navigating the inherent volatility that comes with that. Our work is finally starting to deliver results, and we are in the best place we’ve ever been technologically.”
However, in a separate press release, Expedia announced a change in leadership. Ariane Gorin will be replacing Kern as CEO effective May 13th. Gorin has held various executive roles at Expedia since 2013 and most recently served as president of Expedia for Business. Kern will continue to contribute to the company as a board member and hold the position of vice chairman to ensure a smooth transition.
Despite the stock decline, shares of Expedia saw a positive gain of 3.3% during regular trading hours on Thursday. Over the past 12 months, Expedia’s stock has surged by 33%, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which saw an advance of 21% during the same period.