Trip.com Surges to 2025 Nasdaq Peak Amid China's Travel Boom and Winter Sports Surge

Trip.com has officially hit its highest Nasdaq closing of the year at $75.03 on Thursday, riding strong momentum from a robust recovery in China’s travel sector. The stock continued its impressive rally, trading 13% higher week-over-week and up nearly 60% annually. Meanwhile, the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 4.7% on Friday to HK$578, marking their best close since December.

Explosive Growth Numbers Drive Investor Confidence

The surge came as Trip.com reported blockbuster Q2 2025 results. Net revenue climbed 16% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, with accommodation booking revenue jumping over 20% to $869 million. The standout metric: inbound travel bookings skyrocketed more than 100% compared to the prior year, while outbound hotel and flight reservations exceeded 120% of pre-COVID 2019 levels. Net profit expanded by more than 25% to $676 million, underscoring the company’s operational excellence during peak travel season.

From Startup to Market Leader: The Trip.com Story

Founded as Ctrip in 1999 with just $250,000, Trip.com has evolved into a travel industry behemoth with a $48 billion market cap—nearly double Expedia’s valuation. The platform now connects over 1.7 million hotels and flights across 600+ airlines, operating in 24 languages and supporting 35 currencies. What began as a hotel-booking disruptor has expanded into a comprehensive ecosystem covering flights, corporate travel, and rail tickets.

Strategic Positioning in China’s Travel Renaissance

CEO Jane Sun highlighted the company’s focus on capturing diverse travel segments, with particular emphasis on inbound tourism—a critical pillar as China welcomes record international visitors. This strategy reflects the growing importance of accommodation services as a revenue driver. Behind the scenes, co-founders like billionaire venture capitalist Neil Shen and H World chairman Ji Qi have shaped the company’s trajectory. The investor base includes Baidu (7% stake) and BlackRock-affiliated funds (5.3%), signaling institutional confidence.

Winter Sports and Olympic Opportunities

One underexplored growth avenue: the explosive popularity of winter sports in China post-Beijing 2022. The upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics presents a unique opportunity for Trip.com to capture accommodations bookings from Chinese tourists traveling to Italy for alpine experiences. This represents a fresh revenue stream as China’s affluent travelers increasingly seek premium winter destinations abroad.

Trip.com’s current momentum reflects not just travel recovery, but a fundamental shift in how Chinese consumers spend on leisure—and the platform’s commanding position to monetize that trend.