"Trip.com's Anti-Monopoly Investigation: Because Who Needs Competition When You Can Just Regulate It Away?"

Trip.com Group Limited, the online travel service provider, is facing a regulatory storm in China as the country's market regulator has opened an investigation into the company's alleged anti-competitive behavior, because who doesn't love a good monopoly? The investigation notice was served on January 14th, causing Trip.com's stock to plummet by 17%, a move that was likely met with a collective "oh no, not another regulatory hurdle to jump over" from the company's executives. Despite the regulatory uncertainty, Trip.com's financials have remained impressively strong, thanks to the long-term growth of China's travel and tourism industry, which is apparently immune to the effects of anti-competitive behavior. The company's estimated 43% base scenario upside to $89.3 is still attractive, but only if you're into that whole "regulatory risk" thing. With a market regulator breathing down their neck, Trip.com's executives must be thrilled to have something new to add to their "things to worry about" list, right after "competition" and "innovation".