: Hilton beat earnings expectations and sees ‘meaningful uptick’ in openings, but stock falls

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HLT fell 1.1% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the hotel operator reported third-quarter earnings that topped expectations but provided a downbeat outlook for the current quarter, while saying an “inflection point” has been hit as a “meaningful uptick” in openings is expected. Net income rose to $377 million, or $1.44 a share, from $347 million, or $1.26 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.67 topped the FactSet consensus of $1.66. Revenue grew 12.9% to $2.67 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.62 billion, as revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 6.8% to $121.37 to beat expectations of $120.30. The company expects fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of between $1.51 and $1.56, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.56. For 2023, Hilton raised its guidance ranges for adjusted EPS to between $6.04 and $6.09 from $5.93 and $6.06 and for RevPAR growth to between 12.0% and 12.5% from 10% and 12%. The stock has slipped 1% over the past three months through Tuesday while the S&P 500 SPX has lost 7%.

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