As reported earlier, Needham analyst Laura Martin downgraded Expedia to Hold from Buy after the company's below-consensus Q4 and "very low" 2018 guidance. Martin says the company's outlook highlights a particularly weak Q1, especially given the company's investment spending on cloud infrastructure and an "aggressive" hotel sign-ups initiative. The analyst also expects expenses to rise "dramatically" this year as Expedia accelerates spending due to increasing hotel supply in target markets, website redesign to customize user experience, and customer protection when "something goes wrong" during their booked vacation.