TripAdvisor's Stock Rallies After Sales Beat Expectations

Shares of TripAdvisor Inc. ran up 7% in after-hours trade Wednesday, after the travel website beat fourth-quarter sales expectations, offsetting profit that fell a bit shy. Net earnings rose to $36 million, or 25 cents a share, from $20 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, per-share earnings were 35 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 37 cents. Revenue rose 35% to $288 million from $213 million, above the FactSet consensus of $285.1 million, as revenue from click-based advertising and display-based advertising topped expectations. The stock has lost 3.9% over the past three months through Wednesday's close, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.4%.