Profit fell by 51% and the stock tumbled after hours.
What to say? Well...
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Not a shocker. Anybody looking at public reach numbers on the US business could tell they did not pull in their typical Q1 "pop". If people don't come, they can't buy.
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They appear to be spending like drunken sailors.
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Their recent ad campaign appears to have failed miserably (to wit: their Price Guarantee, which they can't really offer because they don't control the price, and worse yet customers neither believe nor care about). Or they cut spend dramatically, or both.
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I've heard that something like 50% of Expedia Bellevue employees are new in the past 18 months. Virtually all of the senior team are new.
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They continue to look at international growth for their future, but suppliers getting smarter and the rise of paid search must be making it harder to stake a claim.
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Margins must be under serious pressure, as suppliers try to reduce distribution costs and reliance on third parties.
That said, my call is that the Canadian business is likely still doing okay, and I feel good about that.
The rest? Ouch.
I just 