Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) stock fell nearly 5% in premarket trading Tuesday after the global hospitality company reported mixed third-quarter results, with adjusted earnings topping estimates but revenue falling short of expectations.
Hilton reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $2.36.
Quarterly revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $3.325 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $3.369 billion.
Hilton Quarterly Highlights: Record Organic Hotel Openings
Systemwide comparable revenue per available room, or RevPAR, increased 5.8% year over year to $124.70 on a currency-neutral basis, driven by higher occupancy and average daily rates.
Systemwide occupancy reached 75.8%, while the average daily rate stood at $164.57.
Hilton opened 182 hotels and added 23,000 net rooms during the third quarter, representing a 6.5% sequential increase and a 6% year-over-year increase.
The company approved 30,500 new rooms for development during the quarter. As of Sept. 30, 2026, its development pipeline included 3,869 hotels representing 543,100 rooms, up 5% from a year earlier.
Nearly half of the rooms in the development pipeline were under construction, while more than half were located outside the United States.
Quarterly adjusted EBITDA rose to $1.058 billion from $976 million a year earlier. Net income increased to $536 million from $421 million in the year-ago quarter.
During the quarter, Hilton appointed Jeff Moore executive vice president and chief technology officer.
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Liquidity and Capital Returns
Hilton ended the quarter with $830 million in cash and cash equivalents, including $56 million in restricted cash and cash equivalents.
As of Sept. 30, 2026, the company had $13.5 billion in outstanding debt and $1.9 billion available under its senior secured revolving credit facility.
Hilton returned $879 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $845 million in share repurchases and $34 million in dividends.
The company declared a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share, payable Dec. 29, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1, 2026.
Hilton expects to return approximately $3.5 billion to shareholders in 2026.
Outlook and Management Commentary
Hilton raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $9.07 to $9.13 per share from its previous range of $8.89 to $9.01, compared with the analyst consensus estimate of $9.05.
The company also raised its 2026 GAAP earnings outlook to $8.38 to $8.44 per share from $8.22 to $8.35, compared with the analyst estimate of $8.54.
Hilton expects full-year systemwide comparable RevPAR to increase 4% to 4.5% on a currency-neutral basis from 2025.
The company said third-quarter performance benefited from the World Cup and favorable calendar and holiday shifts. However, it expects fourth-quarter results to face headwinds from the U.S. midterm elections and increased impacts from the Middle East.
Hilton lowered its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $4.06 billion to $4.08 billion, citing weaker expectations for performance in the Middle East and lower timeshare license fees.
For the fourth quarter, Hilton expects adjusted earnings of $2.32 to $2.38 per share, compared with the analyst estimate of $2.38.
The company projects fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of $2.25 to $2.31 per share, compared with the consensus estimate of $2.29.
Hilton also expects fourth-quarter RevPAR growth of 3% to 3.5%.
President and CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said the company’s third-quarter performance exceeded expectations and that he expects the momentum to continue through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
Nassetta expressed confidence in achieving full-year net unit growth near the midpoint of Hilton’s 6% to 7% guidance range, supported by continued hotel openings.
HLT Price Action: Hilton Worldwide Holdings shares fell 4.68% to $335.40 in premarket trading Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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