Gross margins have experienced severe compression, falling from historical peaks above 90% to just 51.1% in 2026Q1, reflecting the rising cost burden of the company's transactional business segments.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 1.88B | 1.89B | 1.83B | 1.79B | 1.49B | 902M | 604M | 1.56B | 1.61B | 1.56B | 1.48B | 1.49B | 1.25B | 944.66M | 762.97M | 637.06M | 484.63M | 352.09M |
| Revenue Growth % | 2.03% | 3.05% | 2.63% | 19.84% | 65.41% | 49.34% | -61.28% | -3.41% | 3.79% | 5.14% | -0.8% | 19.74% | 31.9% | 23.81% | 19.76% | 31.45% | 37.65% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 438M | 718M | 131M | 149M | 116M | 74M | 55M | 94M | 86M | 72M | 71M | 58M | 40M | 17.71M | 12.07M | 10.87M | 7.34M | 4.57M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 37.97% | 7.14% | 8.33% | 7.77% | 8.2% | 9.11% | 6.03% | 5.33% | 4.63% | 4.8% | 3.89% | 3.21% | 1.88% | 1.58% | 1.71% | 1.52% | 1.3% |
| Gross Profit | 1.44B | 1.17B | 1.7B | 1.64B | 1.38B | 828M | 549M | 1.47B | 1.53B | 1.48B | 1.41B | 1.43B | 1.21B | 926.95M | 750.89M | 626.19M | 477.29M | 347.52M |
| Gross Margin % | 76.64% | 62.03% | 92.86% | 91.67% | 92.23% | 91.8% | 90.89% | 93.97% | 94.67% | 95.37% | 95.2% | 96.11% | 96.79% | 98.12% | 98.42% | 98.29% | 98.48% | 98.7% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -31.16% | 3.97% | 19.11% | 66.18% | 50.82% | -62.55% | -4.12% | 3.03% | 5.32% | -1.74% | 18.91% | 30.1% | 23.45% | 19.91% | 31.2% | 37.34% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 1.37B | 1.09B | 1.61B | 1.51B | 1.27B | 959M | 878M | 1.28B | 1.35B | 1.36B | 1.24B | 1.2B | 866M | 632.37M | 454.6M | 337.28M | 243.09M | 172.43M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 57.8% | 87.85% | 84.62% | 85.46% | 106.32% | 145.36% | 81.99% | 83.34% | 87.4% | 83.99% | 80.56% | 69.5% | 66.94% | 59.58% | 52.94% | 50.16% | 48.97% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 1.16B | 859M | 1.42B | 784M | 642M | 636M | 489M | 1.15B | 1.23B | 1.25B | 1.14B | 1.11B | 801M | 597.15M | 428.52M | 253.95M | 174.81M | 121.55M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 45.43% | 77.11% | 43.85% | 43.03% | 70.51% | 80.96% | 73.91% | 76.16% | 80.27% | 77.16% | 74.33% | 64.29% | 63.21% | 56.16% | 39.86% | 36.07% | 34.52% |
| Research & Development | 50M | 0 | 0 | 273M | 222M | 212M | 224M | 294M | 275M | 243M | 243M | 207M | 171M | 130.67M | 86.64M | 57.45M | 53.67M | 37.07M |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | 15.27% | 14.88% | 23.5% | 37.09% | 18.85% | 17.03% | 15.62% | 16.42% | 13.87% | 13.72% | 13.83% | 11.36% | 9.02% | 11.07% | 10.53% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2.8M | 234M | 197M | 456M | 411M | 111M | 165M | -168M | -159M | -14M | -15M | 7M | -18M | -1.54M | -14.32M | 25.89M | 14.61M | 13.81M |
| Operating Income | 73.3M | 80M | 92M | 126M | 101M | -131M | -329M | 187M | 183M | 124M | 166M | 232M | 340M | 294.57M | 296.3M | 272.76M | 226.3M | 168.18M |
| Operating Margin % | 3.91% | 4.23% | 5.01% | 7.05% | 6.77% | -14.52% | -54.47% | 11.99% | 11.33% | 7.97% | 11.22% | 15.55% | 27.29% | 31.18% | 38.83% | 42.81% | 46.69% | 47.77% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | -13.04% | -26.98% | 24.75% | 177.1% | 60.18% | -275.94% | 2.19% | 47.58% | -25.3% | -28.45% | -31.76% | 15.42% | -0.58% | 8.63% | 20.53% | 34.56% | - |
| EBITDA | 169.9M | 172M | 177M | 213M | 198M | -20M | -204M | 313M | 299M | 235M | 267M | 325M | 405M | 329.8M | 322.37M | 298.64M | 253.78M | 191.31M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 9.06% | 9.1% | 9.65% | 11.91% | 13.27% | -2.22% | -33.77% | 20.06% | 18.51% | 15.1% | 18.04% | 21.78% | 32.5% | 34.91% | 42.25% | 46.88% | 52.37% | 54.34% |
| EBITDA Growth % | -13.32% | -2.82% | -16.9% | 7.58% | 1090% | 90.2% | -165.18% | 4.68% | 27.23% | -11.98% | -17.85% | -19.75% | 22.8% | 2.3% | 7.95% | 17.68% | 32.65% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 96.6M | 92M | 85M | 87M | 97M | 111M | 125M | 126M | 116M | 111M | 101M | 93M | 65M | 35.23M | 26.08M | 25.89M | 27.48M | 23.14M |
| EBIT | 121.3M | 123M | 133M | 169M | 111M | -140M | -334M | 201M | 183M | 124M | 166M | 249M | 331M | 294.78M | 292.85M | 272.31M | 226.3M | 175.09M |
| Net Interest Income | -28.8M | -23M | 2M | 3M | -29M | -44M | -32M | 10M | -5M | -14M | -11M | 7M | -8M | -8M | -11M | 391K | -241K | 978K |
| Interest Income | 36.9M | 40M | 48M | 47M | 15M | 1M | 3M | 17M | 7M | 1M | 1M | 17M | 1M | 2M | 0 | 544K | 0 | 978K |
| Interest Expense | 65.7M | 63M | 46M | 44M | 44M | 45M | 35M | 7M | 12M | 15M | 12M | 10M | 9M | 10M | 11M | 153K | 241K | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -39.9M | -35M | -5M | -1M | -34M | -54M | -40M | 7M | -10M | -14M | -15M | 7M | -18M | -9.3M | -14.32M | -863K | -1.89M | -1.64M |
| Pretax Income | 33.4M | 45M | 87M | 125M | 67M | -185M | -369M | 194M | 173M | 110M | 151M | 239M | 322M | 284.7M | 281.98M | 271.89M | -224.41M | -166.54M |
| Pretax Margin % | 1.78% | 2.38% | 4.74% | 6.99% | 4.49% | -20.51% | -61.09% | 12.44% | 10.71% | 7.07% | 10.2% | 16.02% | 25.84% | 30.14% | 36.96% | 42.68% | -46.31% | -47.3% |
| Income Tax | 14.8M | 5M | 82M | 115M | 47M | -37M | -80M | 68M | 60M | 129M | 31M | 41M | 96M | 79.26M | 87.39M | 94.1M | 85.46M | 64.33M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 44.31% | 11.11% | 94.25% | 92% | 70.15% | 20% | 21.68% | 35.05% | 34.68% | 117.27% | 20.53% | 17.15% | 29.81% | 27.84% | 30.99% | 34.61% | -38.08% | -38.62% |
| Net Income | 18.6M | 40M | 5M | 10M | 20M | -148M | -289M | 126M | 113M | -19M | 120M | 198M | 226M | 205.44M | 194.07M | 177.68M | 138.78M | 102.43M |
| Net Margin % | 0.99% | 2.12% | 0.27% | 0.56% | 1.34% | -16.41% | -47.85% | 8.08% | 7% | -1.22% | 8.11% | 13.27% | 18.14% | 21.75% | 25.44% | 27.89% | 28.64% | 29.09% |
| Net Income Growth % | -64.91% | 700% | -50% | -50% | 113.51% | 48.79% | -329.37% | 11.5% | 694.74% | -115.83% | -39.39% | -12.39% | 10.01% | 5.86% | 9.23% | 28.03% | 35.49% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 18.6M | 40M | 5M | 10M | 20M | -148M | -289M | 126M | 113M | -19M | 120M | 198M | 226M | 205M | 194.59M | 177.79M | 138.95M | 102.22M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 0.16 | 0.31 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.14 | -1.08 | -2.14 | 0.90 | 0.81 | -0.14 | 0.82 | 1.36 | 1.55 | 1.41 | 1.37 | 1.32 | 1.04 | 0.77 |
| EPS Growth % | -72.89% | 798.55% | -51.88% | -48.79% | 112.96% | 49.53% | -337.78% | 11.11% | 678.57% | -117.07% | -39.71% | -12.26% | 9.93% | 2.92% | 3.79% | 26.92% | 35.06% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 0.32 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.14 | -1.08 | -2.14 | 0.91 | 0.82 | -0.14 | 0.83 | 1.38 | 1.58 | 1.44 | 1.39 | 1.33 | 1.04 | 0.77 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 115.4M | 131M | 145M | 139.41M | 145.67M | 137.23M | 134.86M | 140.66M | 140M | 140M | 147M | 146M | 146M | 145M | 141M | 134.87M | 133.46M | 133.46M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 115.4M | 125M | 139M | 139.41M | 139.92M | 137.23M | 134.86M | 138.97M | 138M | 135.71M | 145M | 144M | 143M | 143M | 139M | 133.46M | 133.46M | 133.46M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 387.3% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Search Engine Traffic Volatility
As reported in recent financial filings, Tripadvisor's revenue growth has decelerated into negative territory, with 2026Q1 revenue contracting by 3.9% year-over-year, signaling that the company's core advertising and transactional models are struggling to maintain momentum against intensifying competition from integrated search engine travel products.
The transition from a high-margin advertising model to a transaction-heavy marketplace appears to be creating friction in top-line expansion. Investors should monitor whether the recent revenue contraction reflects a permanent loss of search relevance or merely a seasonal adjustment in the travel cycle.
Based on reported figures, Tripadvisor's gross margin experienced significant compression, falling to 51.1% in 2026Q1 from historical peaks exceeding 90%, which suggests that the underlying cost of revenue is becoming increasingly burdensome as the company scales its lower-margin transactional business segments like Viator.
The sharp decline in gross margin suggests that the company's shift toward booking-based revenue is not yet achieving the operational efficiency required to offset higher transaction processing costs. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether these costs are structural or related to temporary promotional discounting.
According to recent SEC filings, Tripadvisor's operating income has swung into a $21.7 million loss as of 2026Q1, demonstrating that the company currently lacks the necessary operating leverage to scale its business without incurring disproportionate increases in selling and marketing expenditures.
The inability to maintain positive operating margins during periods of revenue contraction suggests a high fixed-cost base that is difficult to rationalize in a competitive environment. Management's reliance on aggressive marketing spend to defend traffic levels appears to be a primary constraint on profitability.
As indicated by financial statements, Tripadvisor continues to issue significant stock-based compensation, with $20.7 million recorded in 2026Q1 alone, which consistently weighs on net income and suggests that reported EPS figures may not fully capture the true economic cost of talent retention.
The persistent use of equity-based incentives during periods of net losses may indicate a misalignment between shareholder interests and management's compensation structure. Analysts should adjust for these non-cash expenses to better understand the company's underlying cash-generating capability.
Based on an analysis of recent income statements, the core risk remains the company's reliance on paid traffic acquisition, as evidenced by the high SG&A levels that frequently exceed gross profit, potentially rendering the current business model unsustainable without a shift toward organic user retention.
Short-sellers would likely focus on the company's inability to achieve consistent profitability despite its massive user base, suggesting that the moat may be less defensible than management claims. The reliance on third-party search engines for traffic remains a critical vulnerability that could lead to further margin compression.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying TRIP stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Tripadvisor, Inc. (TRIP) reported total revenue of $1.89B. This represents a 437.1% increase compared to $352.1M in 2009.
Tripadvisor, Inc. (TRIP) is profitable, generating $40.0M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 2.1%.
Tripadvisor, Inc. (TRIP) reported an operating income of $80.0M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 4.2%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Tripadvisor, Inc. (TRIP) generated $1.17B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 62.0%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.