TNL vs VAC: How Travel + Leisure Co and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
TNL and VAC are similarly sized, but TNL trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (8.70x vs 14.61x): the market is paying up for VAC's profile and pricing TNL more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
TNL vs VAC: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | TNL | VAC | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.66B | $4.28B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 8.70 | 14.61 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 1.18 | 1.24 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 79% of range | 96% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: TNL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how TNL and VAC affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. TNL and VAC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined TNL and VAC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Travel + Leisure Co (TNL) do?
Travel + Leisure Co, formerly Wyndham Destinations, is one of the largest vacation-ownership companies in the world. Its core business develops, sells and finances timeshare interests under brands including Club Wyndham, WorldMark, Margaritaville Vacation Club, Sports Illustrated Resorts and Accor Vacation Club, and it earns money three ways: selling vacation-ownership interests (VOIs), financing those purchases with consumer loans, and collecting recurring management and club fees. A second, smaller Travel and Membership segment runs exchange networks (RCI) and subscription travel clubs. In 2025 the company reported roughly $4.0 billion in net revenue and about $230 million in net income, with adjusted EBITDA near $990 million.
What does Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (VAC) do?
Marriott Vacations Worldwide sells vacation ownership interests, the modern points-based version of the timeshare, under an exclusive long-term brand license from Marriott International plus the Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt Residence Club and Grand Residences names. The Abound by Marriott Vacations program lets owners spend points across the portfolio. Roughly 96% of segment revenue comes from the Vacation Ownership segment (about $4.8 billion of 2025's $5.0 billion), with the remainder from Exchange and Third-Party Management, built around Interval International, a membership exchange network of roughly 1.5 million members and more than 3,200 affiliated resorts across 90-plus countries. The economics have three legs: developer profit on selling intervals, recurring resort management and club fees, and consumer financing, because the company lends to a large share of its own buyers and securitizes those receivables. Trailing twelve-month revenue was about $5.2 billion (roughly $3.5 billion excluding cost reimbursements) as of August 2026.
TNL vs VAC: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- TNL drivers: Resilient vacation-ownership demand; Brand and channel expansion.
- VAC drivers: Sales productivity, not tour volume, is carrying growth; A cost and modernization program with a stated dollar target.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: TNL is a consumer-cyclical, so a slowdown in discretionary leisure spending or a weaker economy can quickly pressure timeshare sales and tour volumes. For VAC, this is a levered balance sheet attached to a discretionary purchase: about $3.1 billion of corporate debt plus $2.4 billion of non-recourse securitized notes, with net corporate leverage at 4.0x and liquidity of $928 million.
TNL or VAC: which should you pick?
TNL vs VAC: the full fundamentals
TNL. As of July 2026 TNL trades around the mid-$70s with a market cap near $4.7 billion and a trailing P/E of roughly 21. The dividend yields about 3.2% on a $2.40 annual payout. The valuation sits below asset-light hotel brands, reflecting the development capital and consumer-lending risk embedded in the timeshare model; management guides full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA to roughly $1.03 to $1.055 billion.
VAC. At roughly $125 a share against 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $8.25 to $9.05, VAC trades near 14 to 15 times guided adjusted earnings, and enterprise value against the $805 million to $830 million adjusted EBITDA guide lands in the high single digits once the non-recourse securitized debt is excluded. Trailing GAAP numbers tell an opposite story (a net loss of about $334 million and no meaningful P/E) because of the fourth-quarter 2025 impairment, which is why bulls and bears quoting the same company cite unrecognizably different multiples. The stock had roughly tripled from its 52-week low of about $44.58 by early August 2026 and closed above the average published analyst target of roughly $93, so the market moved faster than the sell-side models.
Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): TNL shows revenue (2025) ~$4.0B, net income (2025) ~$230M, adjusted ebitda (2025) ~$990M, market cap ~$4.7B; VAC shows revenue (ttm) ~$5.2 billion (~$3.5 billion excluding cost reimbursements), q2 2026 contract sales / vpg ~$545 million, up ~22%; VPG ~$4,477, up ~23%, q2 2026 adjusted ebitda / adjusted eps ~$215 million (vs ~$203 million); ~$2.31, up ~18%, gaap net income (ttm) ~-$334 million (~-$9.74 per share) after the ~$546 million Q4 2025 impairment.
The bottom line: TNL vs VAC
TNL and VAC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined TNL and VAC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how TNL or VAC fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Travel + Leisure Co with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how TNL fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between TNL and VAC?
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Travel + Leisure Co, formerly Wyndham Destinations, is one of the largest vacation-ownership companies in the world. Marriott Vacations Worldwide sells vacation ownership interests, the modern points-based version of the timeshare, under an exclusive long-term brand license from Marriott International plus the Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt Residence Club and Grand Residences names. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is TNL or VAC the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, TNL or VAC?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), TNL trades at 8.70x and VAC at 14.61x, so TNL is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both TNL and VAC?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of TNL vs VAC?
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TNL: TNL is a consumer-cyclical, so a slowdown in discretionary leisure spending or a weaker economy can quickly pressure timeshare sales and tour volumes. Because the company finances many buyers itself, rising loan delinquencies and defaults can raise its loan-loss provision and hit earnings, and higher interest rates increase its own cost of funding the securitized receivables. The Travel and Membership segment has been softening (revenue down about 8% in Q1 2026), and the business carries meaningful debt. Timeshare also faces reputational and regulatory scrutiny around sales practices and contract cancellations, and competition from hotels, cruises and short-term rentals is persistent. VAC: This is a levered balance sheet attached to a discretionary purchase: about $3.1 billion of corporate debt plus $2.4 billion of non-recourse securitized notes, with net corporate leverage at 4.0x and liquidity of $928 million. Because the company finances a large share of its own buyers, a consumer credit deterioration hits twice, through slower sales and through higher loan loss provisions on the receivables portfolio, and the provision line has historically been a large and volatile swing factor. GAAP results look nothing like adjusted results: the trailing twelve-month net loss was roughly $334 million (about negative $9.74 per share) because of the $546 million impairment taken in the fourth quarter of 2025, so trailing P/E is meaningless and every valuation argument runs through non-GAAP figures. Several plaintiff firms (Pomerantz, Schall and Portnoy among them) opened securities-fraud investigations in early 2026 over disclosures around the November 2025 quarter, and the industry carries persistent consumer-protection, telemarketing and timeshare-exit litigation exposure. Finally, the second-quarter surge came from volume per guest rather than tour growth, which is harder to sustain indefinitely, and the stock traded above the average published analyst target immediately after the move.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell TNL or VAC; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.