Trivago

Is trivago publicly traded?
Yes, trivago is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TRVG. The company completed its IPO in 2016. American Depositary Shares trade on NASDAQ, with each ADS representing five Class A shares. There were 115,621,475 Class A shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025.

Who owns trivago?
Expedia Group is the majority shareholder, holding a 59.2% ownership interest and 83.9% voting interest as of December 31, 2025. Co-founder Rolf Schromgens holds Class B shares representing an 8.1% ownership and voting interest. The remaining shares are held by public shareholders and other founders.

What is trivago's revenue?
trivago reported full year 2025 revenue of €548.9 million, up 19% from €460.8 million in 2024. Net income was €11.2 million and adjusted EBITDA was €15.8 million. For Q2 2026, total revenue grew 21% to €168.4 million.

Is trivago the same as Expedia?
No, trivago and Expedia are separate companies. Expedia Group is the majority shareholder of trivago, but trivago operates as an independent publicly traded company. Brands affiliated with Expedia Group, including Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, accounted for 34% of trivago's Referral Revenue in 2025. Booking Holdings brands accounted for 40%.

How does trivago make money?
trivago generates revenue by charging advertisers on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-acquisition (CPA) basis when users click through from the trivago platform to booking sites. The company does not sell hotel rooms directly. Advertisers that pay higher bids generally receive better placement and more referrals.

What is trivago's 2026 guidance?
trivago expects mid-teens percentage total revenue growth for full year 2026 and adjusted EBITDA of approximately €30 million. The company targets a 10% adjusted EBITDA margin by 2028.

trivago was founded in 2005 in Dusseldorf, Germany, by Rolf Schromgens, Peter Vinnemeier, and Malte Siewert. The founders built a hotel price comparison website that aggregated rates from multiple booking platforms, allowing travelers to compare prices in one place. The concept addressed a real problem: finding the best hotel deal required checking multiple sites manually.

Throughout the late 2000s, trivago expanded across European markets. The company developed proprietary matching algorithms to tailor search results to user preferences and built a platform that supported multiple languages and localized content. By 2010, trivago had established itself as a leading hotel metasearch engine in Europe.

In 2012, Expedia Group acquired a controlling interest in trivago, providing capital for global expansion. Expedia's investment gave trivago the resources to scale its technology platform and expand into the Americas and Asia-Pacific. trivago completed its IPO on NASDAQ in 2016, listing American Depositary Shares under the ticker TRVG. Each ADS represents five Class A shares.

The company's dual-class share structure gives Expedia Group and co-founder Rolf Schromgens disproportionate voting power through Class B shares, which carry ten votes per share compared to one vote per Class A share. As of December 31, 2025, only Expedia Group and Schromgens hold Class B shares. Expedia Group's ownership interest is 59.2% and its voting interest is 83.9%. Schromgens holds an 8.1% ownership interest through Class B shares.

The late 2010s and early 2020s were challenging. trivago reduced television advertising significantly in 2020, which diminished direct traffic volumes over time. The company reversed course in late 2023, reinvesting in brand marketing to rebuild direct traffic. This strategy has proven effective. Branded channel traffic revenue has grown faster than total revenue for several consecutive quarters, and the conversion rate has improved dramatically.

In Q3 2025, trivago acquired the trivago DEALS business, which contributed to revenue growth in 2026. The company also launched trivago Book & Go, a feature that has increased significantly in relevance compared to the prior year. In Q1 2026, trivago announced a €20 million share buyback program, supported by a cash position of approximately €136 million and zero long-term debt.