Should Investors Bet on Tripadvisor After 13D Management’s $5 Million Stake?

Oh, look. 13D Management, that firm with a taste for underappreciated assets (and a knack for making those assets behave), has decided to dip its toes into Tripadvisor’s waters. A cool $4.88 million was invested in 300,000 shares as of September 30, 2025. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t that a bit of a risky love affair?” After all, Tripadvisor hasn’t exactly been the picture of growth over the years. But let’s put on our investor hats, shall we?

What happened

13D Management-bless their financial heart-decided that Tripadvisor needed a little pick-me-up. They’ve acquired 300,000 shares during Q3 2025, adding to their portfolio in what could be called a very quiet, almost understated declaration of trust. Not a word about this in their previous quarterly report, mind you. Maybe they wanted us to be a little bit surprised. (You know, like a well-timed plot twist in a soap opera.)

What else to know

And here’s where it gets spicy: This new stake represents 4.68% of 13D Management’s reportable assets under management (AUM). I mean, it’s not the blockbuster position they’d want to flaunt like their Mercury Systems or Qorvo investments, but it’s there, lurking in the background like a slow burn. Just don’t expect it to pop into the top five anytime soon. Not unless Tripadvisor suddenly turns into the next big thing, which, spoiler alert, is not exactly likely.

Speaking of the top holdings-let’s see where Tripadvisor sits in the grand scheme of things:

Mercury Systems (MRCY): $10.6 million (10.2% of AUM)
Qorvo (QRVO): $8.1 million (7.7% of AUM)
Viasat (VSAT): $7.8 million (7.5% of AUM)
Autoliv (ALV): $6.9 million (6.6% of AUM)
Pearson (PSO): $6.5 million (6.2% of AUM)

As of November 13, 2025, Tripadvisor’s shares were sitting at $14.78-up a whole 3% in the past year. But, of course, in the world of growth investing, a 3% gain is just the financial equivalent of a shrug. The S&P 500 managed to beat Tripadvisor by 9 percentage points. It’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Not ideal, right?

Company Overview

Metric	Value
Market Capitalization	$1.73 billion
Revenue (TTM)	$1.83 billion
Net Income (TTM)	$5.00 million
Price (as of market close 2025-11-13)	$14.78

Company Snapshot

Tripadvisor, bless its heart, is an online travel giant that-let’s be honest-feels a bit like a 90s sitcom star who’s still holding out hope for a comeback. The company offers hotel bookings, vacation rentals, restaurant reservations, and travel experiences through brands like Tripadvisor, Viator, and TheFork. It’s like a digital Swiss Army knife for travelers, just with a few more jagged edges than you’d like.

At its core, Tripadvisor operates as a platform-based business, which means it’s trying to connect all the dots between travelers and service providers. It’s been doing this for years, gathering user-generated content like Yelp on steroids, but the real question is-does anyone actually trust these reviews anymore?

While it boasts a competitive advantage in its vast ecosystem of services, its brand loyalty has the durability of a wet paper towel. Sure, people still use it, but it’s not exactly blowing the minds of investors looking for something that will outpace inflation, let alone outperform the market. It’s not the worst company, but the future of Tripadvisor feels like it’s always one bad quarter away from becoming the next Blockbuster.

Foolish take

Now, 13D’s decision to go long on Tripadvisor is… intriguing. They’ve just made the company their 12th-largest holding. I’m curious. It’s not the typical choice for a growth investor, but then again, we’re all looking for that one underdog story. Tripadvisor, though? It’s down 87% from its all-time high, which, if we’re being brutally honest, is a pretty ugly statistic. It’s the financial equivalent of an old dog trying to learn new tricks-but you know, those tricks haven’t exactly been working out.

Still, there’s something alluring about the company’s recent strategy. Tripadvisor is merging its core Tripadvisor business with Viator, the experiences-based arm, and possibly spinning off TheFork. If you’re an activist investor (and, let’s face it, 13D definitely counts in that category), this smells like a potential turnaround play. Will they actually fix Tripadvisor, or are they just hoping someone else comes along with a better offer? Who knows. But I’d say keep your eye on the stock for those potential sparks of life.

Look, we’re talking about a company that trades at 12 times free cash flow. That’s not terrible, considering the state of its affairs. But as for long-term appreciation? Let’s just say it’s not the kind of stock that makes me sit up at night and start drafting my next portfolio overhaul. It’s more of a “wait and see” situation. We’ll see if 13D’s gamble pays off, but don’t bet the farm on it.

Glossary

13F reportable assets under management (AUM): The portion of a fund’s assets that must be disclosed in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
Position: The amount of a particular security or investment held by an investor or fund.
Stake: The ownership interest or number of shares a fund or investor holds in a company.
Top holdings: The largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, usually ranked by market value or percentage of assets.
Lagging the S&P 500: Underperforming the S&P 500 index over a specified period.
Platform-based business model: A business structure that connects users and providers through a digital platform, facilitating interactions and transactions.
User-generated content: Reviews, ratings, or other information created and shared by users rather than the company itself.
Monetization: The process of generating revenue from a product, service, or platform.
TTM: The 12 months ending with the most recent quarterly report.

So, there you have it. A bit messy, a bit dramatic, but what else did you expect? 📉

2025-11-19 20:19