MakeMyTrip Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ:MMYT) executives told investors the company saw a strong recovery in travel demand during its fiscal 2026 third quarter, led by the festive season and multiple long weekends, though management noted a temporary disruption in December after India introduced stricter flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules for pilots.

Rajesh (management did not provide a last name in the transcript) said Q3 is typically India’s peak leisure travel season and that demand remained strong “barring” the December disruption. He added that MakeMyTrip’s diversified product portfolio helped offset the impact of weaker domestic air supply, with some demand shifting to other modes such as buses and cabs.

AI initiatives and product expansion

Management emphasized ongoing product innovation using AI, describing it as a “positive tech evolution” that can improve “all aspects of the customer journey,” including inspiration, search, booking, and post-sales support.

Rajesh highlighted the company’s AI trip-planning assistant, Myra, which he said is powered by large language models and MakeMyTrip’s proprietary traveler data. Myra has scaled to more than 50,000 conversations daily, with roughly 72% categorized by the company as “good conversations,” and a quality score of 3.9 out of 5 discussed later in Q&A. He said about 15% of Myra conversations occur during early-stage trip planning, and in Q&A he placed trip-planning interactions closer to 23%–24% of total interactions. Management also pointed to usage in smaller cities, saying more than 45% of Myra users are from tier-two cities and beyond, with voice-led interactions 50% higher in non-metro cities.

On customer service, Rajesh said AI voice and chatbots are now autonomously resolving about half of customer queries across flights and hotels. He also noted the company introduced a GenAI-powered performance analytics summary for hotel and host partners, delivered in an audio “playbook” format in Hindi and English.

As part of a “one-stop-shop” strategy, Rajesh said MakeMyTrip recently launched tours and activities, offering access to more than 200,000 bookable activities across 1,100 cities in 130 countries.

Segment trends: air, hotels, bus, and corporate travel

In air ticketing, Rajesh said domestic daily departures grew 2% year-over-year in October and 5% in November after a decline in Q2, but December daily departures fell 5% year-over-year versus an expectation of 5% growth due to the new duty time rules. Mohit (management did not provide a last name in the transcript) later said the company expects supply to stabilize, but full recovery is likely pushed into the next fiscal year.

Management also pointed to international outbound travel as a key growth opportunity. Rajesh said the company introduced an end-to-end visa guidance feature in the international flights funnel, covering visa types, timelines, required documents, and fees, with the ability to initiate a visa application directly through MakeMyTrip. He said early results showed strong engagement and improved conversions and visa attach rates.

In accommodations (hotels, homestays, and holiday packages), Rajesh said volume grew 20.3% year-over-year, supported by leisure demand, wedding season demand, and MICE events. He cited the “highest-ever check-ins” on December 25. Management said a GST reduction on hotel rooms under ₹7,500 acted as a catalyst, boosting volumes but also creating a divergence between volume growth and gross booking value (GBV) growth because the final customer price includes a lower tax component.

Rajesh said MakeMyTrip now lists more than 97,000 accommodation options across 2,050+ Indian cities, and during the quarter sold properties in 1,950+ cities, with 100+ cities selling for the first time in the last 12 months. He also described new GenAI-led discovery features for beach destinations in 25 international cities, and women-focused features including women-specific ratings, AI-generated review summaries, and safety scores, live across 100+ cities and 33,000+ properties.

In holiday packages, Rajesh said the company operated chartered flight packages to Phu Quoc, Vietnam, and reiterated its view that direct connectivity and simplified visa processes can “open new destinations.”

The homestay business sold 27,600+ unique properties across 1,050+ cities and now contributes “early double-digits” to overall hotel volume, management said.

In bus ticketing, Rajesh said Q3 delivered double-digit growth across all regions, with private inventory crossing 45,000 daily schedules at quarter-end versus 40,000 a year earlier. The company also enabled unified inventory on the rail search page to surface buses, and its Southeast Asia redBus platform partnered with Grab to integrate intercity bus and ferry bookings.

Corporate travel also grew, management said. Active corporate customers on MyBiz rose to 77,500+ from 64,000 a year ago, while Quest2Travel reached 539 large corporates from 493. Rajesh said the company completed its integration with travel and expense management platform Happay, adding flights and hotels so Happay is now a “complete travel and expense management solution.”

Financial highlights and profitability

Mohit said the company benefited from strong October–November performance and a festival promotion called the “Travel Ka Mahurat Sale,” which ran for about 33 days and engaged more than 75 million users. He said the sale helped drive advance purchases and mitigate the December disruption.

• Air ticketing adjusted margin: $107.9 million, up 20.4% year-over-year in constant currency, driven by international air, which accounted for about 43% of the air adjusted margin. Mohit said domestic industry growth was 0.9% year-over-year, while MakeMyTrip grew 2.2% and saw slight flown-basis market share gains to just over 31%.
• Hotels and packages: volume up 20.3% year-over-year; standalone hotels volume up 20.6%. GBV growth was about 15.9% year-over-year, which management attributed to the GST rate cut. Mohit said the mix of international hotels and packages revenue increased to about 24.2% from about 23%.
• Bus ticketing adjusted margin: $42.4 million, up 26.1% year-over-year in constant currency.
• Other segment (including ancillaries) adjusted margin: $27.5 million, up 45.5% year-over-year in constant currency.

On expenses, Mohit said marketing and sales promotion expense was 5.6% of gross bookings, which he said reflected high seasonality and mix shifts. Adjusted operating margin improved to 1.82% of gross bookings from 1.76% a year earlier, and the company posted its first quarter with more than $50 million in adjusted operating profit, at $50.7 million.

Mohit said the quarter included $28.3 million of non-cash interest cost on zero-coupon convertible bonds and about $5.3 million in translation-related foreign currency losses from rupee depreciation. Reported profit after tax was $7.3 million, while adjusted net profit was $51.4 million, with adjusted diluted EPS up about 33% year-over-year.

Buyback activity, cash position, and Q&A themes

Mohit said the company repurchased 0.55 million shares for approximately $41.5 million during the quarter and repurchased $5 million principal amount of 2030 convertible notes for about $4.6 million, bringing total buyback utilization to $46.1 million, which he described as the company’s highest in-market buyback to date. The quarter ended with more than $800 million in cash equivalents, and management said it will continue investing in AI and organic initiatives while also evaluating strategic opportunities.

During Q&A, executives reiterated that hotel take rates and margins were broadly stable. Mohit said standalone hotel margins were “largely stayed in line” at about 17.7%, despite stronger growth in the non-premium segment, where room nights grew over 23% year-over-year. Management also discussed the GST cut’s impact on reported growth comparisons, indicating that the differential versus prior-year tax rates could create an optical headwind for up to four quarters.

On domestic air capacity, Rajesh said industry schedules should return to modest positive growth in the current quarter but that the situation may become clearer after summer schedules are filed. On AI competition, he argued that GenAI is more opportunity than threat, with potential disruption concentrated in trip planning rather than fulfillment and post-sales, and said the company’s focus is on protecting and growing its direct traffic, particularly through its app.

About MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ:MMYT)

MakeMyTrip Inc is an online travel company that provides a comprehensive suite of travel products and services through its website and mobile app platform. The company’s offerings include air ticketing, hotel reservations, holiday packages, rail and bus ticket bookings, ancillary travel services such as travel insurance and visa assistance, and corporate travel management solutions. By leveraging technology-driven platforms, MakeMyTrip aims to deliver convenience, competitive pricing, and a seamless booking experience for both retail and business customers.

Founded in June 2000 by Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip has grown to become one of India’s leading travel technology firms.