With Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) It Looks Like You'll Get What You Pay For

Booking Holdings Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BKNG) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 45.2x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 14x and even P/E's below 8x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Booking Holdings has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

View our latest analysis for Booking Holdings

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If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Booking Holdings.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Booking Holdings would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 274%. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 58% drop in EPS in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 60% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 9.6% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Booking Holdings is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Booking Holdings' P/E

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Booking Holdings maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Booking Holdings you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Booking Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that sit on P/E's below 20x and have grown earnings strongly.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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