These Analysts Boost Their Forecasts On Marriott International Following Q4 Results

Core Insights - Marriott International reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results and provided strong first-quarter adjusted EPS guidance [1] - Adjusted earnings were $2.58 per share, slightly below the $2.61 expected by analysts, but up from $2.45 a year earlier [1] - Revenue reached $6.69 billion, surpassing estimates and increasing over 4% year-over-year [1] Future Guidance - For the first quarter of 2026, Marriott expects earnings of $2.50 to $2.55 per share, aligning with Wall Street's expectation of $2.50 [2] - Full-year guidance indicates adjusted earnings between $11.32 and $11.57 per share, with modest RevPAR growth and continued room expansion [2] - The company plans to return over $4.3 billion to shareholders in 2026 [2] Operational Performance - President and CEO Anthony Capuano highlighted strong results in 2025, with net rooms growing over 4.3% and worldwide RevPAR increasing by 2% [3] - The asset-light business model generated substantial cash, enabling over $4.0 billion in capital returns to shareholders [3] - Marriott shares increased by 0.4% to trade at $360.88 following the announcement [3] Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Barclays analyst raised the price target from $320 to $356 while maintaining an Equal-Weight rating [5] - Evercore ISI Group raised the price target from $350 to $385 with an Outperform rating [5] - Wells Fargo increased the price target from $353 to $403 while maintaining an Overweight rating [5] - Truist Securities raised the price target from $283 to $350 with a Hold rating [5] - Goldman Sachs raised the price target from $355 to $398 while maintaining a Buy rating [5]