Operating and Financial Review
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY - February 3, 2026, trivago N.V. (NASDAQ:TRVG) (the "Company", "we," "us," "our," or "trivago,") announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025.
Highlights:
Total revenue grew 27% year-over-year to €120.0 million in the fourth quarter, driven by a 17% increase in Referral Revenue, which reached €109.4 million, compared to the same prior year period.
Fourth consecutive quarter achieving double-digit year-over-year Referral Revenue growth, primarily driven by branded channel traffic1 growth across all trivago Core segments2.
Net income for the fourth quarter was €14.5 million, partly driven by the release of an uncertain tax position of €8.8 million, while Adjusted EBITDA3 was €11.3 million.
Full-year 2025 resulted in total revenue growth of 19% compared to the same prior year period, Net income of €11.2 million, and an Adjusted EBITDA of €15.8 million.
In the first quarter of 2026, we expect to continue our double-digit year-over-year total revenue growth as well as improved profitability year-over-year.
"We're thrilled to share the results of an exceptional year 2025 and our fourth consecutive quarter with double‑digit year-over-year growth in Referral Revenue and higher‑than‑expected profitability. For the full year 2025, we exceeded both our top‑ and bottom‑line expectations, delivering 19% year‑over‑year total revenue growth and €15.8 million in Adjusted EBITDA. We closed the year with an exceptionally strong fourth quarter, achieving 27% year‑over‑year total revenue growth. Our long-term strategy is playing out, and we are confident that our brand and product flywheels can continue to drive growth and profitability. Our increased brand investments since mid-2023 are paying off. Branded channel traffic revenue growth has outpaced topline revenue growth significantly in the recent years. We are seeing compounding effects and sustained attractive return on incremental brand marketing spend," said Chief Executive Officer Johannes Thomas.
"We are excited to report that the fourth quarter of 2025 reflected our strong growth trajectory with a year-over-year total revenue growth of 27% despite FX related headwinds. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 was driven by double-digit Referral Revenue growth in all trivago Core segments, spearheaded by a 20% increase in Americas, driven by a strong response to our creatives. Although we are facing a tough year-over-year total revenue comparable in the first quarter of 2026, we are off to an encouraging start in line with our increased profitability targets. We believe cost discipline, a stable headcount achieved by leveraging AI, and compounding brand effects will be key on our way to increased profitability. For the full year of 2026, we expect double-digit percentage total revenue growth and an Adjusted EBITDA of at least €20 million," said Chief Financial Officer Dr. Wolf Schmuhl.
Financial Summary & Operating Metrics (€ millions, unless otherwise stated)
Three months ended December 31,
Twelve months ended December 31,
2025
2024
Δ Y/Y
2025
2024
Δ Y/Y
Total revenue
120.0
94.8
27%
548.9
460.8
19%
Referral Revenue 4
109.4
93.5
17%
532.9
456.2
17%
Return on Advertising Spend
147.9%
162.9%
(15.0) ppts
128.4%
132.1%
(3.7) ppts
Net income/(loss)
14.5
5.1
n.m.
11.2
(23.7)
n.m.
Adjusted EBITDA
11.3
11.1
2%
15.8
10.2
55%
n.m. not meaningful
About trivago N.V.
trivago N.V. (NASDAQ:TRVG) is a leading global hotel search and price comparison platform and one of the most recognized travel brands in the world. When price savvy travelers are searching for a hotel, we want trivago to be the obvious choice. We aim to help travelers find the best place to stay and the best time to go. trivago aims to enable them to book with confidence, saving travelers valuable time and money. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we seek to personalize and simplify the hotel search experience for millions of travelers every month. We provide access to more than 7.0 million hotels and other types of accommodation in over 190 countries.
Discussion of Results
The discussion of results should be considered together with our unaudited financial information included with this review and the periodic reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. Certain information and disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") have been omitted from this review. The unaudited information included with this review is derived from our preliminary internal financial reports and is subject to revision based on the completion of our year-end processes necessary to finalize our auditedfinancial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Recent Trends
Total revenues grew 27% year-over-year to €120.0 million in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by Referral Revenue4 growth of 17%, or €15.9 million, compared to the same prior year period. We observed increased branded channel traffic in all trivago Core segments in response to our continuous strategic marketing campaigns, which continue to resonate well with our target audience. Additionally, numerous AI-related product improvements enhanced our hotel search experience and led to an all-time high booking conversion rate, which positively impacted our profitability.
During the fourth quarter, we continued to further increase our Advertising Spend, which increased by 31% year-over-year, or €17.9 million, compared to the same period in 2024. Global ROAS decreased by 15.0 ppts to 147.9%, compared to the same prior year period due to our strong increases in brand marketing investments across all trivago Core segments. In addition, we tested additional branded marketing channels, which we anticipate to have further scaling potential going forward and are expected to mitigate risk through marketing channel diversification. The continued revenue growth observed this quarter confirms our brand strategy is working as effectively as planned.
For the full year 2025, total revenues grew 19% year-over-year to €548.9 million, primarily driven by Referral Revenue of €532.9 million, which increased 17% compared to the full year 2024. Net income was €11.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA was €15.8 million, representing our ability to effectively scale our brand marketing strategy, while simultaneously growing our revenue baseline at profitable levels.
Outlook
Throughout 2026, we expect to improve profitability by continuing to scale brand marketing in our core markets at a more moderated pace than in 2025, benefiting from the compounding brand effects of our elevated investment levels in recent years. Additionally, we believe continued product improvements, an increasing number of logged-in members, and a seamless "Book & Go" user experience will further increase booking conversion and create retention. We expect that these initiatives, combined with strict cost discipline, will further drive our profitability.
We anticipate delivering double-digit year-over-year total revenue growth as well as improved profitability during the first quarter of 2026. For the full year 2026, we continue to expect double-digit year-over-year total revenue growth and an Adjusted EBITDA of at least €20 million.
Revenue, Advertising Spend, and Return of Advertising Spend
Referral Revenue & Other Revenue
We match our users' searches with large numbers of hotel and other accommodation offers through our auction platform, which we call our marketplace. With our marketplace, we provide advertisers a competitive forum to access user traffic by facilitating a vast quantity of auctions on any particular day. Advertisers submit hotel room and other accommodation rates and participate in our marketplace primarily by making bids for each user click on an advertised rate for a hotel or other accommodation on a cost-per-click, or CPC, basis. We also offer the option for our advertisers to participate in our marketplace on a cost-per-acquisition, or CPA, basis.
We earn substantially all of our revenue when users of our websites and apps click on hotel and accommodation offers or advertisements in our search results and are referred to one of our advertisers, or when a user makes a booking on the advertiser's website ultimately from a referral from our platform. We call this our Referral Revenue.
Management has identified three reportable segments: Americas, Developed Europe and Rest of World (RoW), collectively referred to as trivago Core segments. Our Americas segment is comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Uruguay. Our Developed Europe segment is comprised of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our RoW segment is comprised of all other countries. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the most significant countries by revenue in that segment were Japan, Australia, Turkey, New Zealand and Poland. We have also determined that our trivago DEALS operating segment does not meet the quantitative thresholds of a separate reportable segment for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025.
We also earn revenue by providing travelers with online platforms for direct hotel booking services and offering our advertisers business-to-business (B2B) solutions including subscription fees for trivago Business Studio, which provides hotels with advanced data analytics and tools to enhance the accuracy, visibility, and performance of their listings on trivago. Additionally, we have agreements with certain hotel service providers and affiliates to receive consideration based on achievement of sales volume targets or gross transaction volume of affiliate services, respectively. These revenue streams, which include existing other revenue streams and revenue streams resulting from the acquisition of trivago DEALS, do not represent a significant portion of our total revenue.
Referral Revenue by Segment5 & Other Revenue (€ millions)
Three months ended December 31,
Twelve months ended December 31,
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ %
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ % Y/Y
Americas
€ 43.2
€ 36.0
€ 7.2
20%
€ 199.8
€ 173.6
€ 26.2
15%
Developed Europe
42.4
37.0
5.4
15%
220.7
192.1
28.6
15%
Rest of World
23.7
20.5
3.2
16%
112.5
90.5
22.0
24%
Total Referral Revenue
€ 109.4
€ 93.5
€ 15.9
17%
€ 532.9
€ 456.2
€ 76.7
17%
Other revenue
10.6
1.3
9.3
n.m.
16.0
4.7
11.3
n.m.
Total revenue
€ 120.0
€ 94.8
€ 25.2
27%
€ 548.9
€ 460.8
€ 88.1
19%
n.m. not meaningful
Note: Some figures may not add up due to rounding.
Referral Revenue
Referral Revenue increased by €15.9 million and €76.7 million during the three and twelve months ended months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2024. The increases in all trivago Core segments were primarily driven by growth from branded channel traffic in response to our continuous brand marketing investments, as well as growth from other marketing channels driven by improved booking conversion and higher traffic volumes. We continue to observe overall healthy bidding dynamics on our platform compared to the same periods in 2024, particularly in Americas. These increases were partly offset by the weakening of local currencies against the Euro.
Other Revenue
Other revenue increased by €9.3 million and €11.3 million during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2024, primarily driven by revenues resulting from providing online hotel booking services through the acquisition of trivago DEALS in the third quarter of 2025. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2025, this was partly offset by the discontinuation of other B2B revenue sources in the middle of 2024.
Advertiser Concentration
We generate the majority of our Referral Revenue from online travel agencies, or OTAs. For brands affiliated with Expedia Group, including Brand Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, Wotif, Vrbo and ebookers, the share of our Referral Revenue was 33% and 34% during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to 35% and 37% in the same periods in 2024. For brands affiliated with Booking Holdings, including Booking.com, Agoda and priceline.com, the share of our Referral Revenue was 38% and 40% during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to 39% in the same periods in 2024.
Advertising Spend
Advertising Spend is used in the calculation of our primary operating metrics for trivago Core segments as further described in the "Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)" section below. It is included in selling and marketing expense and consists of fees that we pay for our various marketing channels including TV, search engine marketing, display and affiliate marketing, email marketing, online video, app marketing, content marketing, and sponsorship and endorsement for our trivago Core segments. Other expenses not related to trivago Core segments' Advertising Spend are included in the "Selling and Marketing" section below.
(in € millions)
Three months ended December 31,
Twelve months ended December 31,
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ %
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ % Y/Y
Americas
€ 32.4
€ 22.6
€ 9.8
43%
€ 165.8
€ 136.4
€ 29.4
22%
Developed Europe
24.8
21.0
3.8
18%
159.5
136.3
23.2
17%
Rest of World
18.1
13.8
4.3
31%
92.9
72.7
20.2
28%
Total Advertising Spend
€ 75.3
€ 57.4
€ 17.9
31%
€ 418.2
€ 345.4
€ 72.8
21%
Advertising Spend increased by €17.9 million and €72.8 million during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2024, primarily driven by continuous increases in brand marketing investments across all trivago Core segments aimed at increasing the volume of direct traffic to our platforms.
Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)
Our chief operating decision makers ("CODMs") manage our business and evaluate the operating performance for our trivago Core segments using our primary metrics: Return on Advertising Spend ("ROAS") Contribution and ROAS expressed as a percentage. Both metrics use Referral Revenue before intersegment eliminations from our trivago DEALS operating segment as a basis for the calculation, in line with how our CODMs manage the business. For further details, see "Segment Revenue Reconciliation" below. ROAS Contribution is the difference between Referral Revenue before intersegment eliminations and Advertising Spend. ROAS expressed as a percentage is the ratio of Referral Revenue before intersegment eliminations to Advertising Spend. We believe that both are indicators of the efficiency of our advertising.
Three months ended December 31,
ROAS Contribution (in € millions)
ROAS (in %)
2025
2024
Δ €
2025
2024
Δ ppts
Americas
€ 12.1
€ 13.5
€ (1.4)
137.5%
159.6%
(22.1) ppts
Developed Europe
18.3
16.0
2.3
173.8%
176.0%
(2.2) ppts
Rest of World
5.6
6.7
(1.1)
131.0%
148.3%
(17.3) ppts
Global
€ 36.0
€ 36.1
€ (0.1)
147.9%
162.9%
(15.0) ppts
Note: Some figures may not add up due to rounding.
Twelve months ended December 31,
ROAS Contribution (in € millions)
ROAS (in %)
2025
2024
Δ €
2025
2024
Δ ppts
Americas
€ 36.7
€ 37.2
€ (0.5)
122.2%
127.3%
(5.1) ppts
Developed Europe
62.2
55.8
6.4
139.0%
140.9%
(1.9) ppts
Rest of World
19.7
17.8
1.9
121.2%
124.5%
(3.3) ppts
Global
€ 118.6
€ 110.8
€ 7.8
128.4%
132.1%
(3.7) ppts
Global ROAS decreased by 15.0 ppts and 3.7 ppts during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2025, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2024, mainly due to continuous increases in brand marketing investments across all trivago Core segments with the intention of increasing the volume of direct traffic to our platforms in the long term. This was partly offset by improved performance marketing efficiency across all trivago Core segments. During the three months ended December 31, 2025, the testing of additional branded marketing channels further contributed to the increased Advertising Spend and lower ROAS, particularly in Americas and Rest of World.
Expenses
Expenses by Cost Category (€ millions)
Three months ended December 31,
As a % of Revenue
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ %
2025
2024
Cost of revenue
€ 5.7
€ 2.7
€ 3.0
111 %
5 %
3 %
Selling and marketing
83.3
63.6
19.7
31 %
69 %
67 %
Advertising Spend
75.3
57.4
17.9
31 %
63 %
61 %
Other selling and marketing
8.0
6.2
1.8
29 %
7 %
7 %
Technology and content
13.0
12.5
0.5
4 %
11 %
13 %
General and administrative
9.6
8.1
1.5
19 %
8 %
9 %
Amortization of intangible assets
1.3
—
1.3
0 %
1 %
0 %
Impairment of intangible assets and goodwill
—
0.1
(0.1)
(100) %
0 %
0 %
Total costs and expenses
€ 113.0
€ 87.0
€ 26.0
30 %
94 %
92 %
Note: Some figures may not add up due to rounding.
Twelve months ended December 31,
As a % of Revenue
2025
2024
Δ €
Δ %
2025
2024
Cost of revenue
