Marriott (MAR) Up 9.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Marriott International (MAR). Shares have added about 9.4% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Marriott due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.Marriott Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher RevPAR & FeesMarriott reported first-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis.The quarter reflected broad-based demand, with worldwide RevPAR rising 4.2%. Strength in fee generation and continued development momentum also supported results.MAR’s Q1 Earnings & Revenue DiscussionMarriott’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.58. It increased 17.2% year over year from $2.32 reported in the prior-year quarter. Quarterly revenues of $6.65 billion beat the consensus mark of $6.59 billion. The top line moved up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.MAR’s Q1 Fee Revenue Mix Shows Broad StrengthMarriott’s asset-light model translated into higher fee generation in the quarter. Franchise fees rose to $872 million from $746 million in the prior-year period, benefiting from a combination of unit growth and improving systemwide performance.In the first quarter, Base management fees increased to $339 million compared with $325 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Our model projected the metric to be $330.4 million.Incentive management fees advanced to $222 million from $204 million in the year-ago period, supported by stronger results in the United States & Canada and broad-based improvement across international regions. Our model projected the metric to be $207.7 million.Marriott’s Q1 RevPAR Gains Led by APEC & U.S.In the United States & Canada, comparable systemwide RevPAR increased 4.0% year over year. Management noted that performance strengthened through the quarter and was broad-based across customer segments and chain scales, pointing to resilient travel demand.International markets delivered additional upside, with RevPAR up 4.6% year over year despite the conflict in the Middle East affecting March trends. APEC led international performance, with first-quarter RevPAR increasing more than 7%, while RevPAR in Greater China increased by almost 6%, driven by leisure travel.MAR’s Q1 Profitability Benefits From Operating LeverageOperating income improved to $1,064 million from $948 million in the year-ago quarter, reflecting higher fee revenues and disciplined execution across the platform. Adjusted EBITDA increased 15% year over year to $1,398 million, indicating healthy operating leverage despite cost headwinds.Costs moved higher in select areas. General and administrative expenses totaled $219 million compared with $209 million a year ago, reflecting higher compensation costs partly due to timing and partially offset by lower litigation expenses. Net interest expense rose to $204 million from $183 million, largely due to higher interest expense associated with higher debt balances, while the tax provision increased to $210 million from $99 million.Marriott Expands Pipeline With Record SigningsMarriott’s development momentum remained a key highlight. The company added roughly 15,900 net rooms globally during the quarter, including approximately 7,500 net rooms in international markets, lifting net rooms growth to 4.5% from the end of the first quarter of 2025.At quarter-end, Marriott’s worldwide development pipeline reached a new record of 4,107 properties and nearly 618,000 rooms. About 43% of pipeline rooms were under construction, including hotels pending conversion. Conversions continued to play an important role, representing more than 35% of signings and over 40% of openings in the quarter.MAR’s Balance Sheet Supports Ongoing Capital ReturnMarriott ended the quarter with total debt of $16.5 billion and cash and equivalents of $0.5 billion, compared with $16.2 billion of debt and $0.4 billion of cash and equivalents at year-end 2025. The company also issued $600 million of senior notes due 2033 with a 4.5% coupon and $850 million of senior notes due 2038 with a 5.1% coupon.Capital returns remained robust. Marriott repurchased 2.1 million shares for $0.7 billion during the quarter. Year to date through April 29, the company returned more than $1.2 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases and had repurchased 3.1 million shares for $1.1 billion.Marriott’s 2026 Outlook Calls for Steady GrowthFor the second quarter of 2026, management expects worldwide comparable systemwide constant-dollar RevPAR growth of 1.5% to 2.5%. Gross fee revenues are projected between $1,538 million and $1,553 million, while adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $1,525 million to $1,550 million.For full-year 2026, Marriott projects worldwide RevPAR growth of 2.0% to 3.0% and year-end net rooms growth of 4.5% to 5%. The company expects gross fee revenues of $5,925 million to $5,985 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5,880 million to $5,970 million. The updated outlook assumes continued impacts from the conflict in the Middle East through year-end and excludes any impact from the renegotiation of the U.S. co-branded cards, as discussions remain ongoing.How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates review have trended downward during the past month.VGM ScoresAt this time, Marriott has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Marriott has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.Performance of an Industry PlayerMarriott is part of the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry. Over the past month, Hyatt Hotels (H), a stock from the same industry, has gained 11%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended March 2026 more than a month ago.Hyatt Hotels reported revenues of $1.75 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +1.7%. EPS of $0.63 for the same period compares with $0.46 a year ago.For the current quarter, Hyatt Hotels is expected to post earnings of $0.89 per share, indicating a change of +30.9% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -1.7% over the last 30 days.Hyatt Hotels has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of D.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks