Marriott Q3 Earnings Raise RevPAR Outlook

Marriott International Inc. reported third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 2 that exceeded expectations, prompting the company to raise its full-year revenue per available room (RevPAR) outlook and lift adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance. Management attributed the results to broad-based travel demand and announced plans for significant shareholder returns.

Quarter Results and Guidance

Marriott filed its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, showing revenue of $7.0 billion, up 8.0% year over year, net income of $794 million, adjusted EPS of $3.02, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 billion. Analysts had forecast EPS near $2.84 and revenue around $6.9 billion.

Worldwide comparable RevPAR rose 6.5% year over year, driven by a 7.4% increase in the U.S. and Canada and a 4.4% gain internationally. Growth was broad across customer segments: leisure RevPAR climbed 7.0% globally and 9.0% in North America; group RevPAR increased 6.0% globally and 7.0% domestically; and business-transient RevPAR rose 4.0% globally and 5.0% in the U.S. and Canada. These gains reflected higher average daily rates and occupancy.

Following the quarter, Marriott raised its full-year worldwide RevPAR outlook to 4.5%–5.0%, up from 3.0%–3.5%, and increased adjusted EPS guidance to $12.07–$12.14. The company expects to return at least $4.8 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. It reaffirmed a net-room-growth target of 4.5%–5.0%, with growth anticipated at the low end of that range. CEO Anthony Capuano said the updated outlook assumes the current macroeconomic environment will continue.

Operations and Shareholder Returns

Gross fee revenue rose 14% to $1.5 billion, with net fee revenue up 14% to $1.5 billion. Franchise and base-management fees increased about 13%, supported by higher co-branded credit-card fees, stronger RevPAR, and room growth.

Marriott added approximately 20,100 net rooms during the quarter, raising total net rooms by 4.6% from Sept. 30, 2025. The global development pipeline expanded more than 6% year over year to a record 634,000 rooms.

Net revenue from owned, leased, and other operations declined to $41 million from $70 million, reflecting weaker hotel performance and additional costs tied to a third-party agreement. A $12 million insurance recovery partially offset this decline.

Regionally, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region posted more than 9.0% RevPAR growth, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) rose over 4.0%. Marriott noted the Middle East conflict continued to affect that market, although trends improved significantly from the second quarter.

Management expects demand trends to remain strong into 2027, signaling momentum beyond this year.

“Our excellent third quarter results reflected continued momentum across our business, the benefits of our global scale, and the power of our brands and revenue engines,” Capuano said.