Marriott International earnings: third quarter 2026

Marriott's third quarter of 2026 was driven by its fees, the money it earns for running and franchising hotels owned by others. Net fee revenue rose 14%, faster than total revenue, which grew 8% to $7,005 million. Room revenue per available room rose 6.5% worldwide. Adjusted earnings per share rose to $3.02 from $2.47, helped by a share count about 4% lower after heavy buybacks. On the other side, the company is paying out more than it earns, its debt has grown to $16.8 billion and its interest bill is rising. It raised its forecasts for the year. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Marriott's adjusted earnings per share of $3.02 came in about 6% above the $2.86 that analysts expected on average, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar; its reported figure of $3.04 was also above that forecast. ¹²

The strong points

• Fees from franchising and managing hotels, the heart of Marriott's business, grew 14%, almost twice as fast as total revenue. ¹
• The company's adjusted earnings per share rose to $3.02 from $2.47 a year earlier. ¹
• Marriott bought back $1.3 billion of its own shares in the quarter, so each share now holds a bigger slice of the profit. ¹

The weak points

• So far this year Marriott has returned about $4.0 billion to shareholders, well above the $2.2 billion it earned, and borrowing is filling part of the gap. ¹
• Net interest expense rose to $219 million from $194 million a year earlier as debt grew. ¹

What the company expects

• Marriott raised its forecast for the year: it now expects adjusted earnings per share of $12.07 to $12.14, up from $11.64 to $11.81 three months ago, and room revenue per available room to grow 4.5% to 5.0%, up from 3.0% to 3.5%. ¹
• The one forecast it lowered was for income from the hotels it owns and leases itself, now $170 to $175 million for the year against $175 to $185 million before. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A very strong report. Profit per share came in above what analysts expected, fees grew fast and Marriott raised its forecasts for profit and hotel demand for the year; the only lowered forecast was a small one for the hotels it owns, and the rising debt behind its generous payouts is the point to keep in mind.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. Marriott International's results release, 2 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 2 November 2026. ↩