Diamonds and Dogs

2/21/25

Booking Holdings (BKNG) is higher following earnings as consumers want to travel. The company easily beat estimates sales rose 14% year over year to $5.47 billion. Gross bookings rose 17% as room nights rose 13%. On their conference call, management said the start of 2025 continues to see healthy demand for leisure travel globally. The company increased their dividend by 10% to $9.60 per share.

Back to back Dow components take a hit. Today, its UnitedHealth Group (UNH) down 8% after the Wall Street Journal's report that the Department of Justice is investigating the Dow component about its Medicare billing practices. The DOJ is looking into UNH's practices for recording diagnoses that can result in additional payments from the federal government for its Medicare Advantage plans. UNH is the biggest Medicare Advantage provider. Humana (HUM), CVS Health (CVS), Centene (CNC), and Cigna (CI) are also providers of Medicare Advantage plans.