What Happened?

Shares of travel technology company Sabre (NASDAQ: SABR) fell 6.4% in the morning session after the company provided a weak financial outlook for 2026, including a projection for negative free cash flow. 

This guidance overshadowed its forecast for mid-single-digit revenue growth for the year. Sabre projected a negative pro-forma free cash flow of approximately $70 million for 2026. Adding to the concerns, the company also anticipated a significant increase in its cash interest payments. Annual cash interest for 2026 was expected to be around $470 million, a year-on-year increase of about $140 million. This rise was attributed to the expiration of a prior arrangement that had allowed the company to defer cash interest. The combination of burning through cash and facing higher interest costs appeared to worry investors about the company's financial health.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Sabre? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Sabre’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 45 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 10 months ago when the stock gained 21.1% on the news that the company agreed to sell its hospitality solutions business to TPG for $1.1 billion. The proceeds from the sale were expected to significantly bolster SABR's cash reserves, giving it more flexibility to invest in growth areas such as its airline IT services and travel marketplace platforms. Additionally, the transaction supported the company's efforts to achieve its target leverage ratio of 2.5x to 3.5x, which could improve its appeal to investors.

Sabre is down 18.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $1.09 per share, it is trading 76% below its 52-week high of $4.52 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sabre’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $73.56.

Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free and will only take you a second.