Expedia vs. Airbnb: How a $10,000 Bet Played Out Over 3 Years

As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 24, 2026.

the travel-booking battle · 3y Aug 24, 6:00pm ET

$10K invested in each — worth today:

EXPE$32.4K3.2×

ABNB$15.3K1.5×

Three years ago, $10,000 in Expedia is now $32,395. The same money in Airbnb: $15,251. Owning the disruptor cost you more than $17,000 versus owning the incumbent.

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Ignoring the incumbent cost investors dearly: the same $10,000 placed on August 24, 2023 grew to $32,395 in Expedia versus $15,251 in Airbnb.

Both stocks tested holders along the way, with Expedia dipping back toward its starting point and Airbnb trading below its own for extended stretches. Anyone who exited during those patches locked in losses instead of the gains that followed.

The incumbent online travel agency returned 3.24x over three years against the disruptor's 1.53x. Competitive storylines and investment returns do not always align.

Expedia's advantage widened in the closing stretch, leaving Airbnb less than halfway to its ending value. Investors in the travel-booking battle should judge whether that divergence holds.

Sources

Mentioned: EXPE, ABNB

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Biggest movers · At the close Sep 23, 4:11pm ET

Gainers

PANWPalo Alto Networks$392.81+4.9%
ASANAsana$9.47+4.2%
IONQIonQ$42.43+4.1%
DOCUDocuSign$69.29+3.8%
PLTRPalantir$191.7+3.6%

Losers

EXPEExpedia$259.02-7.7%
ABNBAirbnb$149.57-7.6%
LMNDLemonade$44.57-6.5%
HIMSHims & Hers$28.48-6.4%
OPENOpendoor Technologies$2.6-6.0%

Travel took the worst of Wednesday's close, with Expedia down 7.72% and Airbnb close behind at 7.56%. Software ran the other way: Palo Alto Networks led all gainers at 4.87%, with Palantir back near $192.

ABNB Airbnb

Regular session

Sep 23, 12:20pm ET

$152.00

-4.89% open $159.82

A 4.9% slide knocks roughly $3 billion off Airbnb's market value in a single session. Moves this size are rare here, and bulls now need to reclaim the open.

ABNB Airbnb

Regular session

Sep 22, 2:40pm ET

$161.55

-4.75% open $169.60

A 4.75% intraday slide to $161.55 takes roughly $3 billion off Airbnb's market value in a single session. Moves this size are rare for a $67.8 billion travel name, so the close matters more than usual.

EXPE Expedia

Regular session

Sep 22, 11:40am ET

$264.61

-6.83% open $284.01

A 6.8% intraday drop is an outsized single-session move for this travel name, and it lands the same day the company announced a landmark deal. Traders are reading that deal as a cost to the business.

Biggest movers · At the close Sep 8, 4:10pm ET

Gainers

SMRNuScale Power$11.33+16.8%
IQiQIYI$0.98+11.9%
CRWVCoreWeave$99.74+11.6%
DOCNDigitalOcean$125.35+11.4%
INTCIntel$104.48+9.1%

Losers

GPROGoPro$1.45-15.0%
EXPEExpedia$274.83-7.8%
SHOPShopify$134.09-7.6%
ALABAstera Labs$287.59-7.3%
BIDUBaidu$92.55-7.0%

NuScale Power closed 16.8% higher at $11.33, the widest single-name gain across our 111-stock priority list. At the other end, GoPro lost 15%, with Expedia, Shopify, Astera Labs and Baidu all down 7% or more.

EXPE Expedia

Regular session

Sep 8, 3:40pm ET

$272.62

-7.32% open $294.16

A 7.3% intraday slide takes roughly $2.3 billion off the travel booking name's market value in a single session. Moves this size are rare for it, and it is happening in regular trading hours. Keep an eye on where it settles into the close.

52-week highs Aug 28, 6:00pm ET

7 stocks hit new 52-week highs this week

BOXBox$34.98+4.0%
FTNTFortinet$166+2.7%
ABNBAirbnb$189.43+2.2%
EXPEExpedia$329.44+1.9%
RBRKRubrik$93.05+1.8%
KOCoca-Cola$89.66+1.6%
PFEPfizer$27.96+1.2%

Seven names printed fresh 52-week highs this week, spanning travel, software and defensives. Box led with a 3.98% clearance over its prior peak, with Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Airbnb and Expedia also at new records.

Biggest movers · At the close Aug 28, 4:10pm ET

Gainers

WDAYWorkday$205.92+6.4%
DKNGDraftKings$25.53+5.4%
SPOTSpotify$546.01+3.6%
AMZNAmazon$265.35+3.5%
EXPEExpedia$328.9+3.1%

Losers

IRENIren$35.38-12.7%
RBRKRubrik$94.34-11.8%
MARAMarathon Digital$10.65-10.3%
HIMSHims & Hers$28.65-9.5%
TEMTempus AI$64.17-9.2%

Nearly 20 points separated the best and worst names at Friday's close: Iren gave up 12.72% while Workday added 6.38%. Three losers dropped more than 10% in a single session, a reset worth checking before Monday.

EXPE Expedia

Aug 27, 6:00pm ET

Dividend raised $0.48 ex-date 2026-08-27 · 0.70% yield · 16 yrs paying · +20% YoY

A 20% bump to $0.48 a quarter signals management sees travel cash flow holding up. The 0.7% yield stays thin, so the payout growth rate is the part income investors should track.

Biggest movers · At the close Aug 27, 4:10pm ET

Gainers

CRMSalesforce$251.88+22.5%
PANWPalo Alto Networks$386.19+13.8%
RBRKRubrik$107.02+11.3%
SSentinelOne$22.74+10.9%
FTNTFortinet$173.58+10.2%

Losers

EXPEExpedia$316.85-5.0%
SPOTSpotify$527.65-4.1%
IQiQIYI$0.94-4.1%
FUBOfuboTV$10.02-2.7%
MCDMcDonald's$260.46-2.4%

A 22.5% close for a company Salesforce's size almost never happens, and four of the five top gainers were cybersecurity names posting double-digit gains. The downside was tame by comparison: Expedia led decliners at just under 5%.

Biggest dividend payouts · Aug 27 Aug 27, 12:45pm ET

EXPE Expedia

$55M $0.48 per share

2PSECProspect Capital$0.035/sh$17.9M
3SOLSSolstice Advanced Materials, LLC$0.075/sh$11.9M
4KMDAKamada$0.17/sh$9.8M
5EMBCEmbecta$0.01/sh$567K

Expedia is sending shareholders about $55 million, at 48 cents a share, with the money arriving September 17. Prospect Capital, Solstice Advanced Materials, Kamada and Embecta are paying out today's group too. You need to own the shares today to get paid.