Expedia Group's stock in an upswing as it looks to make more acquisitions

It's been about four years since travel giant Expedia Group has made any significant acquisitions. In fact, the last big purchase was in 2015 where it acquired HomeAway for $3.9 million. But the travel tech company says it has plans for its assets in the future, according to the company's Chief Financial Officer.

But Google’s recent partnership with Vacasa, which will promote homes listed by the vacation home rental website in its search results along with the selected destination’s hotel options, may force Expedia’s hand in considering another major acquisition to keep ahead of an ever-growing market that’s attracting competition with just as deep pockets as them.

And with Expedia stocks up 17 percent for the year-to-date and a boatload of cash to spend, Expedia CFO Alan Pickerill detailed the company’s current decision-making dilemma, weighing the options of either pursuing share repurchases as they did during a buyback in July or making acquisitions, two options that the company has fluctuated between over the years.

Expedia has already acquired a handful of branded travel booking sites, including the likes of Travelocity, Hotels.com, Orbits, AirAsia, Wotif, and Engencia, while expanding into travel media with the acquisition of Trivago back in 2012.

However, despite the fact that Expedia has recently favored share repurchases to preserve stock prices and increase earnings, and with Expedia stock up nearly 7.5 percent over the last three months, Pickerill revealed the company is more than open to another major acquisition should the right opportunity present itself.

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