"As I remain bullish on both US growth and inflation accelerating, I'm looking for big sales to buy into," writes Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough. "Today's comes in a stock that our analysts, Gaming analyst Todd Jordan & Internet & Media analyst Hesham Shaaban (co-coverage), have been waiting on - Trip Advisor (TRIP)."
Here's a quick take from Jordan and Shaaban's Institutional Research note (just published):
"4Q16 = ANCILLARY WEAKNESS: TRIP missed top-line results again. The source of the miss was concentrated in its Display Advertising and Other Hotel Revenue segments; both suddenly declined on a y/y basis with mgmt offering no real color as to why in its prepared remarks; we’d be more concerned if not for its soft 2017 guide.
TRIP’s core Click-based & Transaction (CBT) revenue accelerated to flat growth (vs. -10% y/y in 3Q16) on moderated declines in revenue/hotel shopper (we expected growth, but at least positive in the US) and accelerating hotel shopper growth, which was likely due to its expanded marketing campaign. EBITDA missed badly in response, which we’re ok with. Mgmt made a point to change the narrative toward revenue growth rather than profitability."
