Marriott International, Inc. (MAR Quick QuoteMAR - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis.

The quarter reflected broad-based demand, with worldwide RevPAR rising 4.2%. Strength in fee generation and continued development momentum also supported results.

Following the results, Marriott’s shares gained 1.5% in the pre-market trading session.

MAR’s Q1 Earnings & Revenue Discussion

Marriott’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.58. It increased 17.2% year over year from $2.32 reported in the prior-year quarter.

Marriott International, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Marriott International, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Marriott International, Inc. Quote

 Quarterly revenues of $6.65 billion beat the consensus mark of $6.59 billion. The top line moved up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.

MAR’s Q1 Fee Revenue Mix Shows Broad Strength

Marriott’s asset-light model translated into higher fee generation in the quarter. Franchise fees rose to $872 million from $746 million in the prior-year period, benefiting from a combination of unit growth and improving systemwide performance.

In the first quarter, Base management fees increased to $339 million compared with $325 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Our model projected the metric to be $330.4 million.

Incentive management fees advanced to $222 million from $204 million in the year-ago period, supported by stronger results in the United States & Canada and broad-based improvement across international regions. Our model projected the metric to be $207.7 million.

Marriott’s Q1 RevPAR Gains Led by APEC & U.S.

In the United States & Canada, comparable systemwide RevPAR increased 4.0% year over year. Management noted that performance strengthened through the quarter and was broad-based across customer segments and chain scales, pointing to resilient travel demand.

International markets delivered additional upside, with RevPAR up 4.6% year over year despite the conflict in the Middle East affecting March trends. APEC led international performance, with first-quarter RevPAR increasing more than 7%, while RevPAR in Greater China increased by almost 6%, driven by leisure travel.

MAR’s Q1 Profitability Benefits From Operating Leverage

Operating income improved to $1,064 million from $948 million in the year-ago quarter, reflecting higher fee revenues and disciplined execution across the platform. Adjusted EBITDA increased 15% year over year to $1,398 million, indicating healthy operating leverage despite cost headwinds.

Costs moved higher in select areas. General and administrative expenses totaled $219 million compared with $209 million a year ago, reflecting higher compensation costs partly due to timing and partially offset by lower litigation expenses. Net interest expense rose to $204 million from $183 million, largely due to higher interest expense associated with higher debt balances, while the tax provision increased to $210 million from $99 million.

Marriott Expands Pipeline With Record Signings

Marriott’s development momentum remained a key highlight. The company added roughly 15,900 net rooms globally during the quarter, including approximately 7,500 net rooms in international markets, lifting net rooms growth to 4.5% from the end of the first quarter of 2025.

At quarter-end, Marriott’s worldwide development pipeline reached a new record of 4,107 properties and nearly 618,000 rooms. About 43% of pipeline rooms were under construction, including hotels pending conversion. Conversions continued to play an important role, representing more than 35% of signings and over 40% of openings in the quarter.

MAR’s Balance Sheet Supports Ongoing Capital Return

Marriott ended the quarter with total debt of $16.5 billion and cash and equivalents of $0.5 billion, compared with $16.2 billion of debt and $0.4 billion of cash and equivalents at year-end 2025. The company also issued $600 million of senior notes due 2033 with a 4.5% coupon and $850 million of senior notes due 2038 with a 5.1% coupon.

Capital returns remained robust. Marriott repurchased 2.1 million shares for $0.7 billion during the quarter. Year to date through April 29, the company returned more than $1.2 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases and had repurchased 3.1 million shares for $1.1 billion.

Marriott’s 2026 Outlook Calls for Steady Growth

For the second quarter of 2026, management expects worldwide comparable systemwide constant-dollar RevPAR growth of 1.5% to 2.5%. Gross fee revenues are projected between $1,538 million and $1,553 million, while adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $1,525 million to $1,550 million.

For full-year 2026, Marriott projects worldwide RevPAR growth of 2.0% to 3.0% and year-end net rooms growth of 4.5% to 5%. The company expects gross fee revenues of $5,925 million to $5,985 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5,880 million to $5,970 million. The updated outlook assumes continued impacts from the conflict in the Middle East through year-end and excludes any impact from the renegotiation of the U.S. co-branded cards, as discussions remain ongoing.

MAR’s Zacks Rank & Recent Consumer Discretionary Releases

Marriott currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL Quick QuoteRCL - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis. In the quarter under review, the company reported adjusted EPS of $3.60, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.20. In the year-ago quarter, RCL posted an adjusted EPS of $2.71. Revenues in the quarter totaled $4.45 billion, beating the consensus mark of $4.44 billion. The metric increased 11.3% year over year.

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