Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of the stocks on Jim Cramer’s radar as he highlighted AI winners to buy for 2026. A caller inquired if the stock is a buy at this time, and in response, Cramer said:
I don’t think this war, I know this war is supposed to be a short war, I mean, short war, so far, you know, I don’t know how you can really gauge a short war because like war is inherently… ungaugable. So, no Booking… I mean, Booking and the hotels and the, certainly the cruise ships, we’re just not going to stick our necks out, right now. It’s just not worth it, not when we got the data center theme.
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Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) operates travel and dining platforms that enable users to book accommodations, flights, car rentals, activities, and restaurant reservations. Cramer discussed the stock in light of the Iran conflict during the April 14 episode, as he commented:
Third, there is one that frankly was so hot for so many years, I don’t believe that people could totally give it up… It’s called Booking Holdings, it’s the old Priceline, also owns Booking.com, KAYAK, OpenTable, couple of other consumer travel entertainment brands. Okay, here’s a stock that’s down 22% from its highs because of AI displacement, right? I mean, we think it’s going to be disrupted because the online travel agents are basically aggregators, right, and Anthropic’s Claude can aggregate, too. I get that. That’s a threat.
At the same time, we don’t know really how the travel business will handle the war with Iran and the spike in oil prices. Booking also has more exposure to Europe than its main rival, Expedia, which likely means they’re in worse shape because Europe’s feeling more of a squeeze economically thanks to the sky-high natural gas prices over there, and gasoline, of course. But I think a lot of that’s really kind of already baked into the stock.
Plus, when Booking Holdings reported mid-February, management sounded pretty confident. They offered a strong full-year forecast. Of course, that was before the war. But at 17 times earnings, I think the price is right for this company that’s expected to deliver 17.6 earnings growth. 17.6% earnings growth at 17 times earnings, that’s good. At the same time, I’m betting people need a vacation after a harsh winter and a stressful few months. When the war ends, I think this thing’s going to soar.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of BKNG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BKNG and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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