Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) shares have been in the spotlight this week.
The business to business travel company's shares have rocketed higher thanks to the release of a better than expected full year result.
Web Travel posted a 22% increase in total transaction value (TTV) with strong growth in all regions. And while its TTV margins softened in FY 2025 as expected, they have now stabilised.
Web Travel managing director, John Guscic, also revealed that FY 2026 has started strongly. He said:
We have had an exceptional start to FY26 trading with TTV up 37% and Bookings up 29% compared to the same period last year. We are targeting record EBITDA in FY26 and remain committed to delivering $10 billion TTV in FY30 at circa 50% EBITDA margins.
The team at Macquarie has been running the rule over the result. Let's see what it is saying about Web Travel and its shares.
What is the broker saying about Web Travel shares?
According to the note, the result was in line with Macquarie's expectations. It said:
WEB Travel Group UEBITDA of $121m was in line with guidance for $117-122m. WebBeds UEBITDA margins of 42.3% declined 830bps yoy due to TTV revenue margin degradation of 130bps to 6.7%.
The broker was also pleased to see that management is guiding to an improvement in its WebBeds underlying EBITDA margin in FY 2027. And while it still has doubts that this will be achieved, it is a step in the right direction. It adds:
WebBeds UEBITDA margin is now expected to return to c50% in FY27 (FY26 prior). In our view, this is a more realistic trajectory. It supports continued investment, which in turn should underpin TTV growth. As WEB's TTV scales further, UEBITDA margin will also benefit from operating leverage. We forecast FY27 WebBeds UEBITDA margin of 49.0%. This is slightly below WEB's c50% guidance given our TTV of FY27 TTV of $6.7bn is slightly below c$7bn expectation.
In response to these results, Macquarie has upgraded Web Travel's shares to an outperform rating and lifted its price target by 28% to $6.19 from $4.83 previously. Commenting on its upgrade, the broker said:
Upgrade to Outperform (from Neutral). We expect WEB will continue to scale TTV and are increasingly confident it will reach its $10bn FY30 target. Visibility concerning medium-term revenue and UEBITDA margins has improved. WEB should outperform other ASX travel peers in volatile macro conditions.
