Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) raised its 2026 profit and cash flow outlook for the second consecutive quarter after reporting higher third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, even as disruptions to global travel weighed on air bookings.
The travel technology company reported revenue of $738 million, up 3% from a year earlier. Normalized adjusted EBITDA rose 13% to $170 million, while operating income increased 17% to $109 million.
President and CEO Kurt Ekert said total marketplace bookings were flat and air marketplace bookings declined 1% in the quarter. He attributed pressure on air bookings to the conflict in the Middle East and higher fuel prices, which he said contributed to airline capacity reductions and higher fares.
Sabre estimated those factors created a combined 300 to 400 basis point headwind to air marketplace bookings growth. Corporate travel and the Americas remained resilient, Ekert said, while leisure travel was softer, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and in Asia Pacific.
Profit and Cash Flow Outlook Raised
Sabre increased its full-year pro forma adjusted EBITDA outlook by $10 million to approximately $610 million, representing 14% year-over-year growth. It also raised its free cash flow outlook to approximately negative $50 million.
Chief Financial Officer Mike Randolfi said the cash flow forecast includes approximately $60 million in restructuring costs associated with Sabre’s inflation offset program. Excluding those costs, the company would expect positive free cash flow in 2026. Ekert said Sabre expects to generate positive free cash flow in 2027.
The company reaffirmed its outlook for full-year revenue growth and low- to mid-single-digit air marketplace bookings growth. Ekert said both air and total marketplace bookings had improved sequentially in the fourth quarter to date.
Sabre reported negative free cash flow of $48 million in the third quarter. That included approximately $15 million in transaction fees and $40 million in accrued interest payments related to a refinancing. Randolfi said free cash flow would have been positive without those payments.
The company ended the quarter with $688 million in cash, including $78 million used to settle notes in October. Sabre issued $1.35 billion in notes maturing in 2032 at an interest rate of 9.875%, and Ekert said the company has no large debt maturities until the third quarter of 2029.
Growth Across Technology, Lodging and Payments
Marketplace revenue rose 3%, helped primarily by a 3% increase in the average booking fee. Airline technology revenue also grew 3%, reaching $144 million.
Ekert said Sabre had four airline customer implementations completed or underway, including a recent Sabre Mosaic and Offer Order win with Kenya Airways. He said demand was strongest for offer-side technology, which airlines can implement in modules, while adoption on the order side was progressing more slowly.
Sabre also renewed its distribution agreement with United Airlines, including continued access to United’s New Distribution Capability, or NDC, content. NDC bookings represented 5% of Sabre’s total air marketplace bookings in the third quarter.
Marketplace lodging and other bookings grew 8%, with increases across hotel, car and rail. Hotel-related revenue rose 14%, supported by higher hotel attach rates and media growth. Ekert said hotel attach rates had exceeded 35% and identified leisure travel as an opportunity for further expansion.
Quarterly gross spend in Sabre’s payments business increased 27% year over year. Payments revenue grew at a double-digit rate, with an annualized run rate of approximately $60 million, Ekert said.
AI Opportunity and Investor Day
Asked about artificial intelligence agents booking travel, Ekert said Sabre was in discussions with large agentic platforms and viewed the technology as a potential growth opportunity. He said it was too early to determine how such services would be priced commercially.
Ekert described AI as a potential upside to the company’s previously discussed expectation for mid-single-digit volume and revenue growth next year. He also cautioned that the travel demand picture remained mixed, with strong corporate demand but weaker leisure demand in some regions.
Sabre plans to provide multiyear financial projections at its investor day on November 17.
About Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR)
Sabre Corporation is a travel technology company that provides software, data, and marketplace services to airlines, hotels, travel agencies, corporations, and other participants in the global travel industry. Its platforms help customers search, shop, price, book, and manage travel content across air, lodging, and other travel products.
The company’s offerings include global distribution and travel marketplace capabilities, application programming interfaces, and tools such as the Sabre Red suite for travel agencies and travel sellers.
