Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Hilton Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y, Stock Up

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • Hilton's Q3 EPS of $2.11 and revenues of $3.12B beat consensus, rising year over year.
  • Results were driven by a robust development pipeline and strong brand conversion demand.
  • Hilton added 199 hotels and expanded its pipeline to 3,648 properties across 128 countries.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2025 results, wherein earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis. Following the results, shares of the company increased 2.5% in the pre-market trading session today.

Hilton’s third-quarter 2025 results were supported by its resilient business model, which delivered strong bottom-line performance despite softer RevPAR trends. Growth was driven by a robust development pipeline, increased construction starts and strong demand for brand conversions. Global expansion and sustained net unit growth momentum further reinforced performance and outlook confidence.

Hilton’s Q3 Results in Detail

Hilton reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.11, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.03. In the year-ago quarter, it reported an adjusted EPS of $1.92.

Total revenues of $3.12 billion beat the consensus mark of $3.02 billion and increased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.

The quarter’s franchise and licensing fees improved year over year to $739 million from $698 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $758.4 million.

Base and other management fees increased year over year to $93 million from $88 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Incentive management fees were down 1.5% year over year to $65 million. Our model projected base and other management and incentive management fees to be $98.4 million and $76.1 million, respectively.

Ownership revenues were $322 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s level of $330 million. We expected the metric to be $349.8 million.

HLT’s RevPAR & Adjusted EBITDA

In the third quarter, the system-wide comparable RevPAR declined 1.1% year over year (on a currency-neutral basis), owing to occupancy and ADR declines.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $976 million, up 8% year over year. Our estimate for adjusted EBITDA was $953.5 million.

Balance Sheet of HLT

As of Sept. 30, 2025, Hilton’s total cash and cash equivalents were $1,126 million compared with $448 million as of second-quarter 2025. Hilton carried $11.7 billion in total debt, with a weighted average interest rate of about 4.8% as of Sept. 30, 2025. Excluding finance lease obligations, total debt stood at $11.6 billion, also at a 4.8% average rate, with no significant maturities before April 2027. The company noted it has ample liquidity and access to capital markets to comfortably meet upcoming debt obligations.

In third-quarter 2025, the company repurchased 2.8 million of its common stock for $270.31 per share.

Hilton’s Business Updates

In the third quarter of 2025, Hilton added 199 hotels, comprising 24,800 rooms and achieved net room growth of 23,200. During the quarter, Hilton continued to grow its luxury and lifestyle portfolio with several notable openings and signings. The Conrad brand entered Germany with Conrad Hamburg, while Thailand welcomed its first Curio Collection property, KROMO Bangkok. In the United States, the Sunseeker Resort Florida Gulf Coast opened under Curio, offering a premium experience for leisure, lifestyle and business travelers.

In the third quarter, Hilton grew its development pipeline by 33,000 rooms. By Sept. 30, 2025, the pipeline included 3,648 hotels with about 515,400 rooms across 128 countries and territories, 26 of which currently have no Hilton presence. Nearly half of these rooms are already under construction and more than half are located in international markets outside the United States.

HLT’s Q4 & 2025 Outlook

For fourth-quarter 2025, Hilton anticipates net income to be in the range of $441-$462 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $906 million and $936 million. It predicts adjusted EPS between $1.87 and $1.96.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, management forecasts system-wide RevPAR (on a currency-neutral basis) to increase nearly 1% on a year-over-year basis.

For 2025, HLT estimates net income to be in the range of $1.64-$1.62 billion compared with the previous expectation of $1.64-$1.68 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $3.69 billion and $3.72 billion. It predicts general and administrative expenses to be in the range of $410-$420 million.

Full-year adjusted EPS is projected to be in the range of $7.97-$8.06 compared with the prior estimate of $7.83-$8.00. The capital return is anticipated to be about $3.3 billion.

Management anticipates the 2025 system-wide RevPAR (on a currency-neutral basis) to be flat to up 1% year over year.

HLT’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Hilton currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector are Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH - Free Report) , Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL - Free Report) and Hasbro, Inc. (HAS - Free Report)

Norwegian Cruise Line flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.1%, on average. NCLH stock has declined 7.2% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NCLH’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 6% and 14.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

Carnival flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 169.8%, on average. Carnival stock has gained 17.3% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carnival’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 6.5% and 51.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Hasbro has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.8%, on average. Hasbro stock has gained 16.4% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hasbro’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 6.9% and 22.2%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Published in