Single-Digit P/E. Tech Company. This Almost Never Happens.
5 Things Investors Need to Know About Trip.com Group (TCOM)
Dear Investors.
Zee here. Here's something that will make any value investor do a double-take. Trip.com, which is Asia's largest online travel platform, growing revenue at 17% a year with US$15 billion in the bank is currently trading at a P/E ratio of just 7.
Single digits. For a company this size, that almost never happens.
To put that in context: the average stock in the travel industry trades at P/E ratio of 20x, while Booking Holdings, Trip.com's closest global competitor, trades at over P/E ratio of 20x.
So why is the market pricing it like a distressed asset?
That's exactly what we're going to unpack today.
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#1 The Latest Numbers: Stronger Than Expected
Trip.com’s Q4 2025 earnings beat analyst expectations on both revenue and profit. The company reported Q4 revenue of RMB 15.4 billion (US$2.2 billion), up 21% year-on-year, with full-year 2025 revenue hitting RMB 62.4 billion — a 17% jump from 2024.
Earnings per ADS came in at RMB 4.97 on a non-GAAP basis, beating the forecast of RMB 4.77.
Even more reassuring: Trip.com is sitting on RMB 105.8 billion (US$15 billion) in cash and cash equivalents as of end-2025.
Hotel bookings grew 21%.
Flight and transport ticketing grew 11%.
Corporate travel revenue rose 13%.
In simple terms: the core travel business is healthy. People across Asia are travelling more, and Trip.com is capturing that demand.
#2 International Growth Is the Real Engine
Here’s what’s quietly impressive: Trip.com is no longer just a China travel story.
Its international OTA (online travel agency) platform, the part of the business serving travelers outside China, grew bookings by approximately 60% year-on-year in 2025. That’s three times faster than the overall business. International revenue now contributes 40% of total bookings and revenue.
Inbound tourism, foreigners travelling into China, nearly doubled year-on-year, with 20 million inbound travelers served in 2025. To back this push, Trip.com invested over RMB 1 billion in inbound travel initiatives and launched a US$100 million Tourism Innovation Fund.
The Asia-Pacific region is leading the charge, with SEA markets like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand emerging as key feeder markets for travel into China.
#3 A Government Antitrust Probe Wiped Out US$8 Billion in a Day
Now for the headline event that changed everything.
On January 14, 2026, Trip.com disclosed that China’s market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), had launched a formal anti-monopoly investigation into the company.
The market didn’t wait. Trip.com’s stock fell 17% in a single session, erasing over US$8 billion in market value overnight.
The investigation centers on Trip.com’s AI-powered hotel pricing tool. This tool automatically lowered hotel rates on the platform when it detected higher prices listed elsewhere.
That sounds helpful for travelers but regulators allege it was used to force hotel merchants into promotions, penalize non-compliant partners with reduced visibility, and effectively strip merchants of their pricing autonomy.
Trip.com had publicly positioned this tool as “a cornerstone of our long-term strategy.” Shareholders now allege the company understated the regulatory risk it was sitting on.
On March 10, 2026, Trip.com shut down the tool entirely.
#4 Co-Founders Resigned From the Board, With No Explanation
On February 26, 2026, the same day as the Q4 earnings announcement, Trip.com revealed that its co-founders had abruptly resigned from the company’s board of directors, effective the day before.
No explanation was given.
This is the kind of news that makes long-term investors nervous. When co-founders exit without explanation during an active regulatory investigation, questions naturally follow: Was it pressure from SAMR? A board-level disagreement over how to handle the crisis?
We don’t know.
Multiple US securities class action lawsuits have now been filed, alleging that Trip.com misled investors about regulatory risks surrounding its AI pricing tool between April 2024 and January 2026. The lead plaintiff deadline for investors to join these suits is May 11, 2026.
#5 The Stock Looks Cheap. But Cheap Has a Reason
After a 25% decline from its 2025 highs, Trip.com now trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 9 times earnings (depending on whether you use GAAP or adjusted figures). For a company growing revenue at 17% to 21% per year, that looks inexpensive by global standards.
US$15 billion in cash provides a massive buffer. International growth is accelerating. Travel demand across Asia remains structurally strong. And the company consistently beats earnings estimates.
But the market is applying a “regulatory discount” — pricing in the possibility that the SAMR investigation results in a significant fine, a forced change to the business model, or lasting damage to its merchant relationships.
China’s regulatory outcomes are unpredictable and can take years to resolve. Removing the AI pricing tool takes away one of Trip.com’s core competitive edges. And the co-founder exits leave a governance question unanswered.
The Bottom Line
Trip.com is a genuinely strong business navigating a serious regulatory storm. The fundamentals, revenue growth, a fortress balance sheet, accelerating international expansion, are all pointing in the right direction.
But the combination of a government antitrust investigation, unexplained co-founder exits, and active shareholder lawsuits creates a layer of uncertainty that the numbers alone can’t resolve.
For investors with a long time horizon and the stomach for China regulatory risk, the current valuation may represent a real opportunity. For those who prefer clarity before committing, watching how the SAMR investigation develops over the next two to three quarters is the more prudent path.
The business can perform. Whether management can navigate the fog — that’s the real question.
Disclaimer: All information here is for educational purposes only. This is not financial advice. Please do your own research and speak with a licensed advisor before making any investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future returns, and that’s exactly the point.