Hilton lifts FY EPS guidance as Q3 earnings beat expectations

(Sharecast News) - Hotel chain Hilton lifted its full-year earnings guidance on Wednesday as it posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings despite a fall in occupancy. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.11, up from $1.92 in the same period a year earlier and ahead of expectations of $2.05, while net income rose to $421m from $344m.

Meanwhile, revenue per available room (RevPAR) dipped 1.1% on the same period a year earlier. Hilton put this down to "modest" occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) declines.

For the full year, Hilton now expects diluted earnings per share, adjusted for special items, to be between $7.97 and $8.06, up from previous guidance of $7.83 to $8.00.

Also for the full year, the company expects RevPAR to be flat to 1% higher compared to 2024.

President and chief executive Christopher J. Nassetta said: "Our third quarter results continued to demonstrate the resilience of our business model, delivering strong bottom line performance despite softer industry RevPAR. We remain optimistic, that in the US, lower interest rates, a more favourable regulatory environment, certainty on tax policy and a significant investment cycle will accelerate economic growth and travel demand, and, when paired with limited industry supply growth, should drive stronger RevPAR growth over the next several years.

"The quality of our development pipeline, acceleration in new development construction starts, attractiveness of our brands for conversions and continued growth of our brand presence globally gives us confidence in delivering net unit growth between 6.5% and 7% in 2025 and 6% percent to 7% over the next several years."