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Trip.com Swings to Quarterly Loss as China Antitrust Penalty Offsets Revenue Jump

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Trip.com Swings to Quarterly Loss as China Antitrust Penalty Offsets Revenue Jump

Trip.com Group (HKG:9961) incurred a loss in the second quarter of 2026 after Chinese regulators imposed a multibillion yuan antitrust penalty on the online travel operator, offsetting its revenue gains.

The Shanghai-based company, which also operates executive and international headquarters in Singapore, posted an attributable net loss of 2.5 billion yuan in the second quarter, versus a net income of 4.8 billion yuan a year earlier.

Loss per ordinary share and per ADS was 3.89 yuan, compared with earnings per share of 6.97 yuan a year prior.

The swing was driven largely by a 5.2 billion yuan anti-monopoly penalty imposed by China's State Administration for Market Regulation on the company in July over "monopolistic conduct."

The SAMR penalty pushed Trip.com's general and administrative expenses up 477% year over year to 6.3 billion yuan.

Stripping out that fine, attributable net income would have been 2.7 billion yuan, the company said.

Meanwhile, total net revenue rose 6% year over year to 15.7 billion yuan, which the company attributed to "resilient travel demand." On a quarter-over-quarter basis, however, revenue fell 3% due to elevated energy prices and geopolitical volatility.

Accommodation reservation revenue, the company's largest segment, edged up 6% year over year to 6.6 billion yuan, while transportation ticketing revenue fell 1% to 5.4 billion yuan.

Revenue from the company's international business grew more than 50% from a year earlier, while inbound-travel revenue rose at a high-double-digit rate.

Trip.com Executive Chairman James Liang hinted at the company's plans to advance its AI capabilities "across every stage of the travel journey" as part of its new strategy called Globalization and Great Quality, or G2.

"We are expanding our offerings to include new travel and lifestyle experiences, while leveraging technology and international marketing to help partners differentiate and drive sustainable growth," added Trip.com CEO Jane Sun.

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