As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak downgraded Booking Holdings (BKNG) and Expedia (EXPE), both to Equal Weight from Overweight, as he sees the maturing online travel industry entering a period of slower room night growth and increased investment. Online hotel penetration is approaching 50% in the U.S. and Europe, noted Nowak, who contends this will drive online travel agencies to invest to drive more direct, repeat users and in new offerings such as alternative accommodations, in-travel experiences, restaurants and loyalty or discount programs. His FY19 and FY20 EBITDA estimates for Booking and Expedia are 2-5% below Street consensus and he sees revision risk, Nowak added. He lowered his price target on Booking shares to $2,050 from $2,100 and cut his target on Expedia to $125 from $150.

WEX (WEX) announced that it has reached a new long-term agreement with Booking.com (BKNG), effective April 2024. This agreement distinguishes WEX as Booking.com's preferred virtual card provider as it continues providing WEX payment solutions in support of Booking.com's payments vision to make buying and selling travel-related products and services easier for everyone. "With more than 800,000 active customer relationships worldwide, WEX is proud to work with eight of the top ten online travel agencies globally, including Booking.com," said Carlos Carriedo, WEX's Chief Operating Officer, International. "Building on years of working together, we remain committed to delivering WEX's deep expertise in both payments and travel, as well as the reliability of our technology platform, to help Booking.com power its B2B travel payment activities 24/7 and 365 days/year at scale, globally." Booking.com first became a WEX customer in 2013. Over a decade later, WEX now processes payments for Booking.com across the world.