Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record first-quarter global openings of 15,000 rooms, up 13% year-over-year, and a record development pipeline of 254,000 rooms, up 5% year-over-year.

• Net income rose to $61 million from $16 million in the prior-year quarter, reflecting improved operating performance and lower non-recurring expenses.

• System-wide rooms grew 4% year-over-year, with strong growth in higher RevPAR segments in the U.S. and EMEA/Latin America.

• Largest hotel franchisor globally with 9,300 hotels, 25 brands, and 907,000 rooms across 95+ countries; 115M+ loyalty members and 254,000 rooms in the pipeline.

• Asset-light, fee-based franchise model focused on leisure and "drive to" destinations, generating high margins and strong free cash flow.

Financial highlights

• Fee-related and other revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $316 million, driven by higher royalties and franchise fees.

• Adjusted EBITDA grew 3% to $145 million, or 9% on a comparable basis excluding $8 million of marketing fund variability.

• Diluted EPS was $0.78 versus $0.19 in the prior-year quarter; adjusted diluted EPS grew 10% to $0.86, or 20% on a comparable basis.

• Free cash flow was $80 million, converting at 55% of adjusted EBITDA.

• $109 million returned to shareholders via $76 million in share repurchases and $33 million in dividends.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year 2025 outlook refined for softer-than-expected RevPAR; now expects global RevPAR growth of (2%) to 1% and net room growth of 3.6% to 4.6%.

• Adjusted EBITDA guidance lowered to $730–$745 million from $745–$755 million; adjusted diluted EPS now $4.57–$4.74.

• Free cash flow conversion before development advances expected at 57%.

• Each 1% change in RevPAR impacts fee-related revenues by ~$10 million and adjusted EBITDA by ~$4 million.

• Management expects sufficient liquidity to fund operations, growth, and shareholder returns.