Spotting Winners: Choice Hotels (NYSE:CHH) And Travel and Vacation Providers Stocks In Q3

Let’s dig into the relative performance of Choice Hotels (NYSE:CHH) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 travel and vacation providers earnings season.

Airlines, hotels, resorts, and cruise line companies often sell experiences rather than tangible products, and in the last decade-plus, consumers have slowly shifted from buying "things" (wasteful) to buying "experiences" (memorable). In addition, the internet has introduced new ways of approaching leisure and lodging such as booking homes and longer-term accommodations. Traditional airlines, hotel, resorts, and cruise line companies must innovate to stay relevant in a market rife with innovation.

The 17 travel and vacation providers stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.9% on average since the latest earnings results.

Choice Hotels (NYSE:CHH)

With almost 100% of its properties under franchise agreements, Choice Hotels (NYSE:CHH) is a hotel franchisor known for its diverse brand portfolio including Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and Clarion.

Choice Hotels reported revenues of $447.3 million, up 4.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 7.6%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

"Choice Hotels International delivered another quarter of record profitability, underscoring the strength of our portfolio's continued shift toward higher-value brand segments and multiple growth avenues beyond U.S. RevPAR," said Patrick Pacious, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Interestingly, the stock is up 5.2% since reporting and currently trades at $96.29.

Is now the time to buy Choice Hotels? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND)

Founded by explorer Sven-Olof Lindblad in 1979, Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND) offers cruising experiences to remote destinations in partnership with National Geographic.

Lindblad Expeditions reported revenues of $240.2 million, up 16.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.6%. The business had a very strong quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Lindblad Expeditions pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 18.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $14.43.

Is now the time to buy Lindblad Expeditions? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV)

Spun off from Hilton Worldwide in 2017, Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) is a global timeshare company that provides travel experiences for its customers through its timeshare resorts and club membership programs.

Hilton Grand Vacations reported revenues of $1.3 billion, flat year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 5%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Hilton Grand Vacations delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 2.4% since the results and currently trades at $45.24.

Read our full analysis of Hilton Grand Vacations’s results here.

Marriott Vacations (NYSE:VAC)

Spun off from Marriott International in 1984, Marriott Vacations (NYSE:VAC) is a vacation company providing leisure experiences for travelers around the world.

Marriott Vacations reported revenues of $1.26 billion, down 3.2% year on year. This number missed analysts’ expectations by 4.5%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also logged a miss of analysts’ conducted tours estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 13.3% since reporting and currently trades at $58.32.

Read our full, actionable report on Marriott Vacations here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Hilton (NYSE:HLT)

Founded in 1919, Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) is a global hospitality company with a portfolio of hotel brands.

Hilton reported revenues of $3.12 billion, up 8.8% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but EBITDA guidance for next quarter meeting analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 9.4% since reporting and currently trades at $290.84.

Read our full, actionable report on Hilton here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

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