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Booking dives after slashing its guidance as Iran war weighs on its business

Booking Holdings fell as much as 5% in early trading on Wednesday after it slashed its Q2 and full-year guidance as the war in Iran weighs on its business.

The company — which owns brands like Booking.com and Kayak — expects fewer people to book travel accommodations through its sites this year than it had previously forecast, as the war in Iran leaves travel plans uncertain and jet fuel prices remain elevated.

It now expects to report 2026 gross bookings growth in the “high single digits to low double digits,” compared to its previous guidance of “low double digits.” It also forecasts annual adjusted earnings-per-share growth in the “low to mid-teens,” rather than the “mid-teens.”

For the last quarter, Booking reported adjusted EPS of $1.14, ahead of Wall Street estimates for $1.07, with revenue 0.5% higher than forecast, too. However, the company also reported room nights — a critical measure of hotel occupancy — that came in below expectations. The company attributed that miss to more people canceling trips and fewer people booking new ones.

Booking also expects the current quarter to be even more impacted by the war than the last. It expects revenue growth of 4% to 6% in Q2, compared to the 11% analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.

“The thing we absolutely are very certain of is this will end,” Booking CEO Glen Fogel told analysts. “We dont know when, but it will. We do know travel will normalize. Now, how quickly? That also an unknown thing.”

The report also brought down its competitor, Expedia, by about 2%.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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