Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) Earnings: Q3 2026 Results

The quarter ended September 30, 2026 and Hilton published the results on October 27, 2026. Revenue and diluted EPS are shown against Q3 2025, the same quarter a year earlier, which takes seasonal swings out of the comparison. Hilton reports EPS two ways: GAAP, under the accounting rules every US filer follows, and diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, which leaves out items the company considers outside its operating results. The release reconciles the two, and when they diverge, the reconciliation says why.

• Hilton's total revenues include cost reimbursement revenues ($1,967 million in Q3 2026), which property owners pay back to Hilton for costs it runs on their behalf. Hilton treats them as a special item and leaves them out of diluted EPS adjusted for special items and of Adjusted EBITDA.
• Net income on this page is net income attributable to Hilton stockholders. Hilton's release headline uses total net income, $536 million against $421 million a year earlier.
• Hilton moved its stock listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq effective November 5, 2026, under the same ticker, HLT.

Source: Hilton Q3 2026 results, October 27, 2026. Also in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Figures as reported; checked against the release on November 10, 2026.

How Hilton splits revenue in its own release, under its own labels, for Q3 2026 against Q3 2025. Indented lines are parts of the line above them.

• Hilton's Franchise and licensing fees revenue was $815 million in Q3 2026, up 10% from $739 million in Q3 2025, 25% of total revenue.
• Hilton's Base and other management fees revenue was $96.0 million in Q3 2026, up 3% from $93.0 million in Q3 2025, 3% of total revenue.
• Hilton's Incentive management fees revenue was $71.0 million in Q3 2026, up 9% from $65.0 million in Q3 2025, 2% of total revenue.
• Hilton's Ownership revenue was $304 million in Q3 2026, down 6% from $322 million in Q3 2025, 9% of total revenue.
• Hilton's Other revenues revenue was $72.0 million in Q3 2026, up 13% from $64.0 million in Q3 2025, 2% of total revenue.
• Hilton's Cost reimbursement revenues revenue was $2.0 billion in Q3 2026, up 7% from $1.8 billion in Q3 2025, 59% of total revenue.

Segment lines are the figures writers cite most often, because they show where the growth in a quarter came from. Companies redraw their segments from time to time and restate the prior year to match, so a year-ago figure here can differ from the one printed a year ago. When that has happened, the note above says so.

From the earnings release

In its Q3 2026 release, Hilton said:

“System-wide comparable RevPAR, on a currency neutral basis, is projected to increase between 3.0 percent and 3.5 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.”

“Diluted EPS, adjusted for special items, is projected to be between $2.32 and $2.38.”

“Net income is projected to be between $508 million and $522 million.”

“Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $1,047 million and $1,067 million.”

Source: Hilton Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026.

This is the company's own guidance as of Oct 27, 2026, quoted as given. Walnut does not make forecasts of its own. Analyst estimates for the coming quarters are on the HLT forecast page.

Revenue and diluted EPS for the last 5 quarters. Each date links to that quarter's release.

GAAP total revenues and diluted EPS, each as first reported in that quarter's earnings release. Total revenues include cost reimbursement revenues.

We do not hold a confirmed date for Hilton's next report. Companies post the date on their investor relations site a few weeks ahead, usually with the time of the conference call.

Each quarter keeps its own page with the figures as reported, so a link to one stays pointed at the same numbers after the next report.

• Q3 2026 (this page), reported Oct 27, 2026

Most of Hilton's $3,325 million of total revenues in Q3 2026 was cost reimbursement revenue: $1,967 million that hotel owners pay back for programs Hilton runs for them, such as payroll at managed hotels where Hilton employs the staff. Hilton says it does not operate these programs to generate a profit. The fee, ownership and other lines added up to $1,358 million, against $1,283 million a year earlier. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026; Hilton Form 10-K, 2025, Feb 11, 2026)

Hilton's franchise and licensing fees were the largest of those lines at $815 million, up 10.3% from $739 million. The 10-Q attributes $29 million of the increase to currency neutral growth in franchise fees at comparable franchised hotels, primarily from higher RevPAR, and $16 million to net hotel additions. Base and other management fees were $96 million and incentive management fees $71 million. (Hilton Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Oct 27, 2026)

Hilton's franchise fees are mostly monthly royalties, generally a percentage of a hotel's monthly gross room revenue. Licensing fees come predominantly from strategic partners, including co-branded credit card providers, strategic partner hotels and Hilton Grand Vacations. (Hilton Form 10-K, 2025, Feb 11, 2026)

Hilton owns or leases few hotels. At September 30, 2026 its ownership segment had 45 hotels with 14,881 rooms, against 892 managed hotels and 8,557 franchised or licensed ones. Ownership revenues fell to $304 million from $322 million, a $12 million currency neutral decrease plus $6 million from exchange rates. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026; Hilton Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Oct 27, 2026)

Hilton's system-wide comparable RevPAR rose 5.8% to $124.70, with occupancy of 75.8% and ADR of $164.57. U.S. RevPAR rose 7.0% and Europe 6.5%, while Middle East & Africa fell 5.6% and Asia Pacific 0.5%. Hilton said the third quarter benefited from the World Cup and favorable calendar and holiday shifts. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

Hilton's diluted EPS was $2.37 in Q3 2026, against $1.78 a year earlier, and diluted EPS adjusted for special items was $2.45, against $2.11. The special items are cost reimbursement revenues and reimbursed expenses ($1,967 million and $1,951 million), FF&E replacement reserves of $17 million, tax-related adjustments and other adjustments. After taxes they came to $20 million, down from $78 million a year earlier, which narrowed the gap between the two EPS figures. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

Hilton's diluted weighted average share count fell to 226 million from 237 million. Hilton repurchased 2.6 million shares in the quarter at an average price of $320.05, for a total of $845 million, and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share. Capital returned year to date through October, including dividends, was $2,902 million. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

Hilton's income tax expense was $186 million on income before income taxes of $722 million, against $183 million on $604 million a year earlier. Interest expense rose to $184 million from $159 million. Hilton had $13.5 billion of debt outstanding at a weighted average interest rate of 5.09 percent. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

Diluted EPS divides net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the quarter, plus the shares that options and other equity awards could add. Buybacks shrink that count and lift EPS for the same profit; share issuance and stock awards enlarge it.

Hilton gives a numeric outlook in its release. For Q4 2026 it projects system-wide comparable RevPAR growth of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent, diluted EPS of $2.25 to $2.31, diluted EPS adjusted for special items of $2.32 to $2.38 and Adjusted EBITDA of $1,047 million to $1,067 million. Share-based figures include repurchases through the third quarter only. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

For full year 2026 Hilton projects RevPAR growth of 4.0 percent to 4.5 percent, diluted EPS of $8.38 to $8.44, adjusted EPS of $9.07 to $9.13 and Adjusted EBITDA of $4,060 million to $4,080 million. It said the EBITDA range incorporates lower expectations for the Middle East and for timeshare license fees than its prior guidance, and that it expects net unit growth around the midpoint of its 6.0 percent to 7.0 percent range and capital return of about $3.5 billion. (Hilton Q3 2026 earnings release, Oct 27, 2026)

A consensus figure is the average of the models published by the analysts who cover Hilton, collected by a data provider and revised up to the day of the report. A quarter that lands above it says how expectations were set as much as how the business did, and the share price on the day also reflects the guidance and the lines no consensus covers.

The consensus figures on this page are Yahoo Finance's, as pulled on the date shown. Each comes with the number of analysts behind it; the smaller that number, the more one revised estimate can move the average.

The figures below are the ones Hilton's own release and filings put weight on for Q3 2026, with the latest reported value for each.

What the quarter means for a holding is a separate question from what it reported. The case for and against owning HLT is on is HLT a buy or a sell?, what analysts expect next is on the HLT forecast, and what the company does is on the Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) stock page.

Every number on this page can be traced to a document Hilton published. Checking one takes a couple of minutes, and it is worth doing before you quote a figure anywhere.

• The results release is the document linked in the source line above. Companies publish it on their investor relations site at the moment results go out, and it carries the headline tables: revenue, operating income, net income and EPS for the quarter and the year-ago quarter.
• The same release is filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02, usually on the day of the report. The SEC copy does not change after the fact, which makes it the safer thing to link when you cite a number.
• The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) follows within a few weeks and carries the full financial statements, the segment note and management's discussion of what changed. The fourth quarter is covered by the annual report (Form 10-K) instead.
• Restated comparisons are flagged in the notes on this page. When a company redraws its segments or changes how it adjusts EPS, it restates the year-ago column, so the year-ago figure in a new release can differ from the one printed a year ago. This page always uses the comparison in the newer release, because that is the like-for-like one.

A walk-through of every line in a release, with what each one tells you, is in how to read an earnings report.