Booking Holdings Inc., the online travel giant formerly known as Priceline.com, has announced a major stock split that will dramatically reduce its share price from approximately $4 270 to around $165. The 25-for-1 split, approved by the company's board of directors, takes effect on 2 April and represents one of the most significant share subdivisions in recent market history.
The move comes after an extraordinary 16,831% rally since 2003, when the company executed a 1-for-6 reverse split to boost its share price following the dot-com crash. That earlier reverse split was a survival mechanism; this forward split reflects decades of sustained growth and a desire to make shares more accessible to a broader range of investors.
High share prices can deter retail investors, particularly those unable to purchase fractional shares through certain platforms. Stock splits optically lower the per-share price while leaving the underlying value of an investor's holding unchanged, often generating renewed buying interest. Booking's new price point will position it alongside more conventionally priced technology and consumer stocks.
The announcement accompanied the company's quarterly results, which showed bookings rising 16% year-on-year to $43 billion, exceeding analyst expectations. Despite the strong operational performance, shares dipped approximately 0.6% in after-hours trading and have declined 20% year-to-date through Wednesday's close.
Booking's four-figure share price had made it a rarity on Wall Street. Among the few exceptions is Berkshire Hathaway's Class A stock, which closed at $747 960, reflecting Warren Buffett's long-standing philosophical opposition to stock splits.
The sentiment is operationally positive but optically neutral. The strong booking numbers demonstrate that Booking's core business remains healthy, with travel demand sustaining momentum. The stock split is a mechanical event — it creates no economic value but removes a psychological barrier for retail investors and potentially opens the door for index inclusion or increased liquidity. The 20% year-to-date decline suggests broader market concerns about valuation or sector rotation, but the split announcement may provide a short-term catalyst as the April effective date approaches. For long-term investors, the split is immaterial; for traders, it creates an event around which volatility often clusters. The contrast with Berkshire's anti-split philosophy highlights different approaches to shareholder base composition — Booking is actively courting broader retail participation, while Berkshire remains indifferent. Google, as a comparison, executed its own 20-for-1 split in 2022, similarly citing accessibility, and saw its shares rally in the months following. The market will watch whether Booking follows a similar pattern or whether broader tech weakness tempers the usual split-related enthusiasm.
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