Earnings Preview: Analysts expect Expedia to have strong Q4 results

Expedia (EXPE) is expected to report Q4 earnings after the market close on Tuesday, February 5 with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. Expedia is an Internet-based travel website that offers airplane, hotel and car reservations, and other vacation and business travel services... EXPECTATIONS: Analysts are looking for EPS of 65c on revenue of $930.69M. The consensus range is 56c-77c for EPS, and $891.98M-$985.45M for revenue, according to First Call... LAST QUARTER: Expedia reported Q3 EPS $1.32 against estimates of $1.26 on revenue of $1.2B against estimates of $1.17B. Room nights grew 27% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA increased 6% year-over-year... STREET RESEARCH AND NEWS: Following Expedia's Q3 results, the company was upgraded at Raymond James, Benchman Co. and Lazard Capital. The analyst firms cited strong numbers from Q3 international bookings, higher than expected gross bookings and market share gains. Ahead of Q4 earnings, Cantor said it expects Expedia to report solid Q4 numbers considering hotel trends remained relatively unchanged and there was a limited hit from Hurricane Sandy in Q4. Cantor added that the company's paid clicks grew at a strong pace in the fall and should add to solid Q4 results... PRICE ACTION: Expedia shares have gained almost 30% since the first day of trading following the company's Q3 report. In Tuesday midday trading ahead of its Q4 report, Expedia shares are trading up almost 2%.