How Is This Possible?
An update on Tripadvisor (TRIP)
From “Nothing Is Off The Table” (January 2026):
“I question if management can continue to fend off calls for change. The most likely first step would be to sell TheFork… I suspect that’s a stepping stone to more significant changes – to sell Viator and / or Tripadvisor.”
Tripadvisor reported its Q4 FY25 results on February 12th, which were not well received by Mr. Market: over the next few days, the stock fell below $10 per share for the first time in the company’s history, roughly 70% below where it traded following the spinoff from Expedia in December 2011.
As discussed in the initiation, there are two recent developments that make Tripadvisor’s current predicament more interesting: the April 2025 merger with Liberty Tripadvisor, which simplified the capital structure into a single share class with no controlling owner, and the involvement of activist investor Jeff Smith of Starboard Value, who owns ~9.4% of Tripadvisor.
The title of today’s post references a question Smith repeatedly asked, specifically to Chairman Greg Maffei and CEO Matt Goldberg, in a letter following the Q4 results. The following captures the crux of his argument: