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Best Stocks: This travel giant just broke out. Why a better entry may be coming up

Best Stocks: This travel giant just broke out. Why a better entry may be coming up

(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Sean — In 2025, even as the economy shows signs of softening, people are still traveling in droves. Flights are full, trains are busy, and destinations around the world are crowded. Travel has shown remarkable resilience, holding up as a secular growth story rather than a purely cyclical one, post-COVID. Families chasing experiences, professionals blending work and leisure, and retirees crossing off bucket-list trips are keeping demand strong. Expedia (EXPE) has been a beneficiary of that continued spending. Best Stock Spotlight: Expedia (EXPE) On the list since: 8/12/2025. One-year price chart with moving averages, RSI: As of EXPE’s latest earnings call, there were 105 million room nights booked in Q2 2025, up 7% year-over-year. Business to business bookings were up 17% year-over-year, which was the 16th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for that segment. The company is seeing robust fundamental growth, too. EXPE has been executing aggressively on its $5B share repurchase plan, first authorized in November 2023. In the second quarter alone, it bought back 3.8 million shares for roughly $627 million, bringing first-half 2025 repurchases to 5.6 million shares worth nearly $1B. Management raised full-year guidance and emphasized that EBITDA margins should continue to expand as operating leverage improves. International revenue is growing faster than the U.S. segment and booked room nights are rising. Expedia is also diversifying beyond its core consumer bookings. Its B2B segment has been scaling quickly, while advertising growth is providing a higher-margin boost to profitability. The bigger picture is that travel demand has defied shaky economic data and is shaping up to be more of a secular bull market than the cyclical story many assumed. Risk Management: Josh — I would let this one simmer down but keep it on the screen. As you can see, the stock exploded after reporting earnings on August 7, the next day is that big black candle and it never looked back. EXPE was slightly overbought but now the RSI is cooling down. I like this one into year-end given the reiteration of their full-year guidance, but I think I can get it slightly lower. The $205 area was a noisy little pocket of resistance earlier this year and has recently acted as support during the summer breakout (yellow line). It roughly aligns with the rising 50-day at $199 — between $199 and $205 is where I would draw my line in the sand. If it violates, I’m out and I let it set up again. I’m risking 15 or 20 points in a stock that could trade into the high 200s or low 300s over the next few years. I’d be stalking this one, watching for a low-volume, gradual decline for my entry. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC” TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.