MCLEAN, Virginia—Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. reported its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results. Highlights include:
- Diluted EPS was $2.06 for the fourth quarter and $6.14 for the full year, exceeding the high end of guidance
- Diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, was $1.76 for the fourth quarter and $7.12 for the full year, exceeding the high end of guidance
- Net income was $505 million for the fourth quarter and $1,539 million for the full year, exceeding the high end of guidance
- Adjusted EBITDA was $858 million for the fourth quarter and $3,429 million for the full year, exceeding the high end of guidance
- System-wide comparable RevPAR increased 3.5 percent and 2.7 percent, on a currency neutral basis, for the fourth quarter and full year, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2023, exceeding the high end of guidance
- Approved 34,200 new rooms for development during the fourth quarter, bringing its development pipeline to 498,600 rooms as of Dec. 31, 2024, representing growth of 8 percent from Dec. 31, 2023
- Added 22,600 rooms to our system in the fourth quarter, resulting in 98,400 room openings for the full year, contributing to net unit growth of 7.3 percent from Dec. 31, 2023
- Repurchased 3.1 million shares of Hilton common stock during the fourth quarter; bringing total capital return, including dividends, to $781 million for the quarter and $3.0 billion for the full year
- Full year 2025 system-wide RevPAR is projected to increase between 2.0 percent and 3.0 percent on a comparable and currency neutral basis compared to 2024; full year net income is projected to be between $1,829 million and $1,858 million; full year Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $3,700 million and $3,740 million
- Full year 2025 capital return is projected to be approximately $3.3 billion
- Net unit growth for 2025 is expected to be between 6.0 percent and 7.0 percent
Overview
Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton, said, “We are pleased to report a strong fourth quarter, with both top and bottom line results exceeding our expectations. All segments drove RevPAR outperformance, with strong trends in leisure occupancy, as well as continued growth in business transient and group results, and we expect favorable trends to continue into 2025. We also delivered the highest number of approvals, construction starts and openings in our history in 2024, helping us achieve net unit growth of 7.3 percent. With a development pipeline of nearly half a million rooms, we are confident that we are well positioned to deliver net unit growth between 6.0 percent and 7.0 percent in 2025.”
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2024, system-wide comparable RevPAR increased 3.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023 due to increases in both occupancy and ADR. Management and franchise fee revenues increased 4.8 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, system-wide comparable RevPAR increased 2.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023 due to increases in both occupancy and ADR. Management and franchise fee revenues increased 9.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2024, diluted EPS was $2.06 and diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, was $1.76, compared to $0.57 and $1.68, respectively, for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2023. Net income and Adjusted EBITDA were $505 million and $858 million, respectively, for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2024, compared to $150 million and $803 million, respectively, for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2023.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, diluted EPS was $6.14 and diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, was $7.12, compared to $4.33 and $6.21, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net income and Adjusted EBITDA were $1,539 million and $3,429 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $1,151 million and $3,089 million, respectively, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023.
Development
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Hilton opened 171 hotels, totaling 22,600 rooms, resulting in 17,200 net room additions. During the quarter, the company continued to expand its portfolio in the Asia Pacific market, surpassing 1,000 hotels in the region. It opened its first hotels in Bonaire and Paraguay and now have properties in 140 countries and territories. The company also added several luxury hotels to its pipeline in the Middle East and Africa region during the quarter. With more than 500 luxury hotels worldwide, Hilton looks to expand its portfolio in 2025 with the reopening of the Waldorf Astoria New York, along with the openings of Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan, Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Waldorf Astoria Morocco Rabat Sale, Conrad Hamburg and Conrad Athens.
Hilton added 34,200 rooms to the development pipeline during the fourth quarter, and, as of Dec. 31, 2024, its development pipeline totaled 3,578 hotels representing 498,600 rooms throughout 118 countries and territories, including 25 countries and territories where it had no existing hotels. Additionally, of the rooms in the development pipeline, nearly half were under construction and more than half were located outside of the United States.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Hilton had $11.2 billion of debt outstanding, excluding the deduction for deferred financing costs and discounts, with a weighted average interest rate of 4.77 percent. Excluding all finance lease liabilities, Hilton had $11.1 billion of debt outstanding with a weighted average interest rate of 4.76 percent and no scheduled maturities until April 2027, other than $500 million of outstanding Senior Notes due May 2025. The company believes that it has sufficient sources of liquidity and access to debt financing to address the Senior Notes due May 2025 at or prior to their maturity date as well as all indebtedness that becomes due thereafter. As of Dec. 31, 2024, no amounts were outstanding under the $2.0 billion senior secured revolving credit facility, which had an available borrowing capacity of $1,910 million after considering $90 million of outstanding letters of credit. Total cash and cash equivalents were $1,376 million as of Dec. 31, 2024, including $75 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents.
In December 2024, Hilton paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock, for a total of $37 million, bringing total dividend payments for the year to $150 million. In February 2025, its board of directors authorized a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock to be paid on March 28, 2025 to holders of record of common stock as of the close of business on Feb. 21, 2025.
During the three months ended Dec. 31, 2024, the company repurchased 3.1 million shares of Hilton common stock at an average price per share of $244.74, for a total of $744 million. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, it repurchased 13.3 million shares of Hilton common stock at an average price per share of $215.09, returning $3.0 billion of capital to shareholders, including dividends. In November 2024, the board of directors authorized an additional $3.5 billion for share repurchases under the stock repurchase program. The amount authorized remaining under our stock repurchase program as of Dec. 31, 2024 was approximately $4.4 billion. The number of shares outstanding as of January 31, 2025 was 240.6 million.
Outlook
Share-based metrics in Hilton’s outlook include actual share repurchases through Dec. 31, 2024, but do not include the effect of potential share repurchases thereafter.
Full Year 2025
- System-wide comparable RevPAR, on a currency neutral basis, is projected to increase between 2.0 percent and 3.0 percent compared to 2024.
- Diluted EPS is projected to be between $7.45 and $7.56.
- Diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, is projected to be between $7.71 and $7.82.
- Net income is projected to be between $1,829 million and $1,858 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $3,700 million and $3,740 million.
- Contract acquisition costs and capital expenditures, excluding amounts reimbursed by third parties, are projected to be between $250 million and $300 million.
- Capital return is projected to be approximately $3.3 billion.
- General and administrative expenses are projected to be between $420 million and $430 million.
- Net unit growth is projected to be between 6.0 percent and 7.0 percent.
First Quarter 2025
- System-wide comparable RevPAR, on a currency neutral basis, is projected to increase between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024.
- Diluted EPS is projected to be between $1.52 and $1.58.
- Diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, is projected to be between $1.57 and $1.63.
- Net income is projected to be between $373 million and $388 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $770 million and $790 million.
