Photo: Daniil Silantev / Unsplash, Unsplash License. Generic trip-planning illustration, not a Tripadvisor product or company event. Resized and cropped.
NEEDHAM, Mass. – Tripadvisor announced Thursday morning that its chief executive and chief financial officer will leave the company, as the travel platform reported an 11% drop in third-quarter revenue and a large noncash charge against the value of its hotel-related business.
Shares were down 22% in midday trading, according to CNBC’s November 5 report. That is an intraday percentage change, not a closing result or a quoted share price.
Tripadvisor provides travel reviews, guidance and booking services and owns Viator, the marketplace for tours, activities and attractions. Its announcements describe a leadership transition and pressure on revenue and profitability, not a shutdown of its platforms or an announcement that customer bookings have been canceled.
Goldberg stays through February as board searches
The board and Matt Goldberg agreed that he will depart as president, chief executive officer and a director, according to the company’s management announcement. Goldberg will remain CEO through February 16, 2027, to support the transition. The board is working with an executive search firm; the release does not name a permanent successor.
Michael Noonan, the chief financial officer, plans to leave for another opportunity and will continue in his role through December 31, 2026. Kristen Dalton, currently chief of strategy and operations, will become interim CFO on January 1, 2027. Dalton joined Tripadvisor in 2019 and has held several roles at the company.
Revenue falls, with the sharpest decline in hotels
For the quarter ended September 30, revenue from continuing operations was $436.4 million, down 11% from a year earlier, Tripadvisor said in its earnings release. Experiences revenue fell 3% to $284.8 million, while Hotels and Other revenue declined 23% to $151.6 million.
The loss from continuing operations was $316.9 million, or $2.70 per diluted share. That is distinct from the consolidated net loss, including discontinued operations, of $313.1 million.
The continuing-operations loss was driven primarily by a $369.5 million noncash goodwill impairment in Hotels and Other. Goodwill is an accounting asset, and this charge reduces its recorded value rather than representing a cash payment of that amount during the quarter.
Tripadvisor attributed the impairment to a sustained decline in financial performance and lower forecast profitability, largely because of worsening traffic pressures caused by changes in the search landscape. The release does not attribute the charge solely to artificial intelligence.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 37 cents per diluted share from continuing operations. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization with additional company adjustments, fell 34% to $71.1 million. These adjusted measures exclude items included in the reported accounting loss and should not be confused with it.
Restructuring aims for $40 million in annual savings
Tripadvisor began a restructuring on November 4 to simplify Hotels and Other, including reducing roles in non-core revenue lines, while directing investment and certain product, engineering and data-analysis roles toward Experiences.
The company expects approximately $40 million in gross annualized savings and $15 million to $20 million in pretax restructuring and related costs, mainly severance and benefits, primarily in the fourth quarter. Those are company estimates, not savings already delivered. The release does not give a verified number of jobs being eliminated.
CNBC separately reported that Tripadvisor forecast a fourth-quarter revenue decline in the low teens compared with the third quarter. That is a sequential comparison, unlike the year-over-year third-quarter revenue declines reported above.
For investors, the immediate issues are the search for leadership, weaker hotel-related earnings and whether restructuring can improve performance while the company invests in experiences. For travelers, the announcements do not establish that an existing reservation has changed; they concern the company’s management and finances.
JBizNews Desk | Needham, Massachusetts
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