What Happened?
Shares of online travel agency Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) jumped 2.6% in the afternoon session after the company unveiled a new suite of artificial intelligence and machine learning-powered tools.
The new features included a trip planning tool called Smart Trip AI, which offered hotel and activity recommendations to customers in a conversational style. Additionally, a new advertising solution, the Lodging Sponsored Listings API, was introduced to allow business partners to show sponsored listings from Expedia on their own platforms. The company stated these tools were designed to help its partners improve speed, scale, and personalization. Supporting the positive sentiment, BTIG analyst Jake Fuller also reiterated a 'Buy' rating on the stock, signaling continued confidence in the company's performance.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Expedia’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock dropped 3.2% on the news that President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 'massive increase of tariffs' on Chinese imports, breaking a monthslong period of calm on Wall Street. The unexpected comments sent major indices sharply lower, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.2% in what was on track to be its worst loss in over two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 372 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 1.7%. Tariffs are taxes placed on imported goods, and an increase could lead to higher costs for American companies that rely on Chinese products. These costs are often passed on to consumers, which can dampen spending and corporate profits, creating uncertainty for investors and the broader economy.
Expedia is up 20.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $222.95 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $228.24 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Expedia’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,413.
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