The split should bring Booking down to about US$165 a share and will take effect on Apr 2
Published Thu, Feb 19, 2026 · 08:42 AM
[NEW YORK] One of the highest price-tag stocks in the US equity market is about to get a deep-discount markdown.
Booking Holdings, whose shares closed at US$4,269.99 a piece on Wednesday (Feb 18), said that its board of directors approved a stock split that will give investors 25 shares for each one they own, a step that high-flying companies often take to make sure their stock does not look too costly to investors.
It did the opposite in 2003, when it was known as Priceline.com and had been dragged down by the collapse of the dot-com bubble. It approved a 1-for-6 reverse stock split to give its share price a little optical boost.
Since then, though, the growth of its online travel business has driven a very real rally that pushed up its stock about 16,831 per cent.
That left Booking with a four-figure share price, a rarity on Wall Street. The Class A stock of Berkshire Hathaway are one famously high-priced exception: They closed at US$747,960.00, reflecting former chief executive Warren Buffett’s dismissive stance towards stock splits.
The split should bring Booking down to about US$165 a share and will take effect on Apr 2. It was announced in conjunction with the company’s latest quarterly results, which showed its bookings rose 16 per cent from a year earlier to US$43 billion, topping analyst estimates.
Shares of Norwalk, Connecticut-based company fell about 0.6 per cent in extended trading. They have fallen 20 per cent this year to Wednesday’s close. BLOOMBERG
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