Hilton lifts 2025 profit forecast on U.S. demand recovery expectations

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on King Street in London, Ont. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

Hilton Worldwide lifted its 2025 profit forecast on expectations of a complete recovery in domestic travel demand in the U.S. after a sharp pullback earlier this year.

But the company’s projection for third-quarter profit came in below analysts’ expectations, sending the hotel operator’s shares down 1.5 per cent on Wednesday.

Some travel companies, including Delta Airlines and United Airlines, recently said US travel demand has steadied after a setback in March driven by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

We are starting to see early signs that demand is thawing, Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said on a post-earnings call, adding that he expects conditions to begin normalizing by the fourth quarter.

The Waldorf Astoria-parent, which last week reopened its flagship hotel in New York after eight years of restoration, posted an adjusted profit of $2.20 per share in the second quarter, beating Wall Street estimates of $2.04, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Total revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $3.14 billion, up 6.3 per cent from a year earlier.

However, quarterly room revenue in the U.S., Hilton’s largest market, fell 1.5 per cent from a year earlier.

With the U.S. market still recovering, Hilton forecast third-quarter adjusted profit in the range of $1.98 to $2.04 per share, below analyst estimates of $2.13.

Nassetta said Hilton plans to add at least two new brands through deals where existing hotels would be rebranded by the end of the year.

Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke emphasized the company would need a record number of room additions in the second half of the year to meet even the low end of its 2025 net unit growth forecast of 6 per cent to 7 per cent.

Hilton forecast its full-year adjusted profit in the range of $7.83 to $8 per share, compared with its earlier forecast of $7.76 to $7.94.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)