HTHT

Image source: The Motley Fool. Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET Founder and Executive Chairman - Ji Qi Chief Executive Officer - Jin Hui Chief Financial Officer - Arthur Yu Investor Relations - Ivy Luo Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the H World Q2 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Ivy Luo. Please go ahead. Ivy Luo: Thank you, operator. Good evening, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome to H World Group 2026 Second Quarter and First Half Earnings Conference Call. Joining us today is our Founder and Executive Chairman, Mr. Ji Qi; our CEO, Mr. Jin Hui; our CFO, Mr. Arthur Yu. Following our prepared remarks, management will be available to answer your questions. Before we continue, please note that the discussion today will include forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, our results may be materially different from the views expressed today. A number of potential risks and uncertainties are outlined in our public filings with the SEC. H World Group does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable laws. On the call today, we will also mention adjusted financial measures during the discussion of our performance. Reconciliation of those measures to comparable GAAP information can be found in our earnings release that was distributed earlier today. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. The webcast of this conference call as well as supplementary slide presentation is available at ir.hworld.com. With that, now I will hand over the call to our CEO, Mr. Jin Hui, to discuss our business performance in the second quarter of 2026. Mr. Jin, please. Hui Jin: [Interpreted] Dear investors and analysts, good day. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome to H World Group's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. During the first half of 2026, domestic culture and tourism travel in China maintained steady growth. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic resident trips reached 3.5 billion in the first half, representing a 5.4% year-over-year increase. As visa-free policies for multiple countries continue to take effect, inbound tourism gained strong momentum, bringing new growth opportunities to China's lodging industry. On the consumption structural front, the growth of total domestic travel spending moderated, up 2% year-over-year to RMB 3.2 trillion in the first half. This reflects new consumption characteristics among travelers, which are more frequent trips with more prudent spending decisions. Recently, the government issued a plan to build China into a nation's strong in tourism during the 15th 5-year plan period, which laid out 2030 targets, including annual domestic resident trips exceeding 8.3 billion with total consumption reaching RMB 7.7 trillion, and inbound tourist arrivals reaching 190 million with total spending exceeding USD 150 billion. The plan also outlined adjustments to the tourism regional layout and a greater supply of high-quality culture and tourism-related products. We believe the travel-related industry supply chain has great long-term growth potential. Moving forward, H World Group will keep leveraging our multi-brand portfolio, hotel operation expertise and digital capabilities to steadily expand our brand network and capture accommodation demand brought by travelers. Facing the current industry opportunities and challenges, H World remains committed to do the right thing for the long term. We focus on the mass market lodging segment and emphasize high-quality development. On hotel network, we continue expanding into lower-tier cities, while at the same time, securing those prime locations in the core cities, continuously optimizing our existing hotel footprint. In the second quarter, we achieved high-quality network expansion through regional breakthroughs and lower-tier city penetration. Backed by a 12.7% year-over-year increase in the number of rooms in operation, the group's hotel GMV grew 13.2% year-over-year to RMB 30.5 billion. Room nights booked by members also achieved steady growth. More importantly, the group asset-light manachise and franchise business delivered robust growth across scale, revenue and profit. In the second quarter, manachise and franchise revenue increased 25.2% year-over-year to RMB 3.6 billion, and gross operating profit grew 18.5% year-over-year to RMB 2.2 billion. With industry competition rationalizing, H World China achieved a 2.6% year-over-year increase in ADR in the second quarter, which was backed by our continuous product and service upgrades, revenue management and integrated marketing capabilities. This marked our fourth consecutive quarters of positive ADR growth. The ADR improvement fueled a 1.1% year-over-year increase in RevPAR in the same period. We continue to steadily expand our high-quality hotel network and enhance our nationwide network presence. As of end June, we had 13,417 hotels in operation in China. Our hotel brands and products continue to gain strong favor and recognition from franchisees, and we maintained a solid signing momentum. As of end June, hotels in pipeline increased both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, reached 3,054. Our hotels in operation and in pipeline cover 1,468 cities in China, and we are marching towards our goal of 20,000 hotels in 2,000 cities. While expanding the lower-tier market, we also continue optimizing hotel footprint in core cities and prime commercial districts. We believe that with H World strength and product competencies and brand influence, we can achieve further breakthrough in China's core existing markets. [Technical Difficulty] Operator: We have signed back. Please resume. Hui Jin: [Interpreted] We focus on the economy and mid-scale segment, deeply cultivating the mass market and continuously strengthening the core competitiveness of our flagship brands. With the upgrades of Hanting and JI, we are pleased to see that the new version hotels delivered meaningful improvement in RevPAR and gained broader recognition from guests and franchisees. With the rollout of Hanting, JI we are further solidifying our leading position in the economy and mid-scale lodging markets. In the recently released Hotel 2025 global rankings for single branded and room counts, JI Hotel leap from the #4 place globally to the top spot with Hanting closely following in the second place. This marks the first time Chinese hotel brands have claimed the top two positions on this list and underscores the effectiveness of our brand strategy. In addition, our core mid-scale brand, Orange Hotel, climbed to 26 place globally, representing another notable milestone in our brand-led expansion. We view this scale leadership as a milestone to date, and we will continue to adhere to high-quality development, focusing on product refinement and continuous iteration to improve product quality and services to better serve guests diversify lodging demands. Looking ahead, our limited service Golden Triangle brands, namely Hanting, JI, and Orange will continue to unleash strong market competitiveness and serve as a key growth engine for the group's 20,000 hotel in 2,000 cities strategy. Besides deepening our core mass market brand and network expansion, our upper mid-scale segment has also been making steady progress. We stick to our multi-brand strategy with distinct brand positioning and value propositions and push ahead with our development strategy centered on four flagship brands Intercity, Grand JI, Crystal, and Mercure. As of end June, H World China's upper mid-scale brands and 1,738 hotels in operation and in pipeline, up 13.4% year-over-year. On the marketing front, we have always centered our strategy on our H Rewards membership program. We firmly believe that our membership program and the direct sales capability are the core competitive advantages underpinning the group's long-term sustainable growth. As our hotel network expanded to more cities, H Rewards membership base and room nights booked by members have both achieved steady growth. In addition, to upgrade membership benefit and enhance our guest experiences, we are refining our membership-centric operation, deepening cross-industry partnerships and expanding diversified loyalty point consumption scenarios for our members. At the same time, we are accelerating our H Reward international presences, optimizing our H Reward app to capture more inbound travel demand and empower global membership services. Going forward, we will further strengthen brand building, broaden customer acquisition channels and continuously optimizing membership benefits to enhance member conversion and strengthen member loyalty. In addition to focusing on our internal operational management and driving steady business expansion across the group, we are also committed to proactively fulfilling our social responsibilities. I would like to share three key areas. Firstly, it will boost local employment and create job opportunities. The continuous expansion of our hotel network enables us to recruit more employees on an ongoing basis. As of end June, the total number of employees of the group exceeded 260,000. In addition, we continue to refine our internal talent development program, providing employees with clear career paths. Secondly, we pursue energy saving management of our hotels and have rolled out multiple initiatives. We share proven energy saving management solutions with our franchisees to help them cut water and electricity costs and secure better operating returns. Thirdly, on social welfare initiatives, supported by the group's charity foundation, we have launched a wide range of public welfare programs to give back to the society through educational assistance, post-disaster support and other initiatives. Going forward, H1 will continue to push forward the social responsibility initiatives, balancing business growth with social commitment and upholding our corporate mission to guests, franchisees, employees and the wider community. Next, let's go over our operational performance in the international market. In the second quarter, HWI's blended RevPAR was affected by the Middle East conflict as well as our Southeastern Asia expansion, which were still in the ramp-up period. In the second quarter, HWI's RevPAR decreased 3.8% year-over-year with ADR up 0.9% and occupancy rate down 3.5 percentage points. Nevertheless, our Europe business delivered a solid performance. The European segment's RevPAR grew 1.1% year-over-year in the second quarter, driven by improvements in both ADR and occupancy. Going forward, we will continue to optimize HWI's operational efficiency in Europe and push forward our strategic layout in the Asia Pacific market. This concludes the business update for the second quarter of 2026. I will now hand over the call to our CFO, Mr. Arthur Yu, for financial performance for the quarter. Arthur Yu: Thank you, Jin Hui. Good evening, and good morning to everyone. Now let's walk through our Q2 financial highlights. In the second quarter, our group revenue grew 10.8% year-over-year to RMB 7.1 billion. This was primarily driven by our China business. In the quarter, our China revenue increased 14.9% year-over-year to RMB 5.9 billion, supported by a steady and high-quality network expansion as well as continued RevPAR recovery. Our international business revenue decreasing 5.8% year-over-year to RMB 1.3 billion, which was due to the closure of leased hotel and therefore, a decline in lease revenue. We are happy to report that our group recorded another quarter of strong profit growth. Adjusted EBITDA increased 20% year-over-year to RMB 2.7 billion, with adjusted EBITDA margin expanding 3 percent point year-over-year to 38.3%. The margin improvement was attributable to a growing profit contribution from our asset-light business, coupled with well-controlled G&A expenses. In the second quarter, hotel operating costs increased 7.4% year-over-year, slower than our revenue growth as we became more asset-light. SG&A expenses in the quarter rose 6.1% year-over-year, which was also slower than our revenue growth, reflecting our cost management capabilities. Adjusted net income grew 26.9% year-over-year to RMB 1.7 billion, with the adjusted net income margin improved 3 percent points to 24%. Supported by ongoing high-quality asset-light network expansion and improved RevPAR performance, our M&F business revenue grew a solid 25.2% year-over-year to RMB 3.6 billion. M&F gross operating profit increased 18.5% year-over-year to RMB 2.2 billion. Lastly, on shareholder returns, we are very pleased to announce that we completed our 2024 shareholder return 1 year ahead of our plan. We are committed to returning to our shareholders, which will continue to be supported by our healthy operating cash flow and strong balance sheet. We, therefore, announced that the Board has approved another 3-year shareholder return plan with an aggregated amount of USD 2.5 billion effective from today. As the first distribution under this new shareholder return plan, the Board has also approved an ordinary cash dividend of approximately USD 275 million. With that, we conclude our financial review for the second quarter of 2026. Ivy Luo: With that, we are ready to take your questions. Operator, please open the line for Q&A. Operator: [Operator Instructions] We will take our first question, and the question comes from Lydia Ling from Citi. Lydia Ling: [Interpreted] This is Lydia from Citi. And congratulations on the solid results in the second quarter. My question is mainly on the RevPAR trend. So into third quarter, we observed a volatile travel demand affected by the extreme weather, especially during this peak summer season. So could you share the RevPAR performance during the summer holiday and also into second half, base goes relative higher. So what's management latest expectation on the third quarter and also full year RevPAR trend. Hui Jin: [Interpreted] I will translate first. So thank you for your question. This is Jin Hui. I will answer this question. So currently, China's leisure travel demand is still a steadily growing. We firmly believe that in China, consumer have treated leisure travel as one of the necessities. This has been very clear after the COVID reopening. Secondly, the government is very supportive of the culture and the tourism travel. In the first half this year, we do see multiple regional governments introducing spring holiday. And in early August, we also saw government encouraging public servant to take holidays. And thirdly, around this round of leisure travel trend, we do see new scenarios and new customers emerging. For example, a family trips, travel by silver hairs, travel by self-driving, that has also -- those both have been performing very strong. Of course, inbound travel has also brought us increasing demand, especially in those core cities in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. So yes, as you mentioned, I mean -- July, we do see several regions being negatively affected by the severe weather and it impacted operational results. In some of the markets for the first half of the summer holiday, the performance was below expectation. Also, on the other hand, we -- I do think that this is also partially affected by the spring holiday. In August, so far, we do see the overall trend recovering. Considering all the uncertainties in the macro environment, we maintain a cautiously optimistic view for the overall demand. For the full year of 2026, we maintain our view for the overall RevPAR unchanged. Operator: Your next question comes from Dan Chee from Morgan Stanley. Dan Chee: [Interpreted] This is Dan from Morgan Stanley. I have two questions. My first question is on hotel opening. We saw gross opening in first half '26 was 1,035 hotels, although on track with Mr. Jin's reassurance on full year target of 2,200 to 2,300, it is 20% below first half last year. Is there any structural change in the contribution of the two halves in the year seasonality-wise? That was my first question. My second question is about economy segment upgrade. Hanting product, we see that it's now more than 55% are version 3.5 and above. Can the management share some progress made on the latest addition of 4.0 and Hanting in such as quantity or operating improvements? Hui Jin: [Interpreted] Thank you Dan, for your questions. So on the overall new hotel network expansion, in the second quarter, we opened 498 hotels. The number of openings is actually in line with our plan and our expectation. And more importantly, if you look at the new signings, we also achieved solid new signings in the second quarter. At end of June, the number of hotels in our pipeline actually increased both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. And we always emphasize that for H World, what we want to achieve is not just a very simple quantity growth, but quality improvement. So we do have higher requirement for our new signings and the new openings. In the next few years, we will continue our sustainable high-quality growth strategy unchanged. And for the full year of 2026, we maintain our full year opening guidance. Yes, in the first half, the opening number was impacted by the base as well as by the supply chain. But I do think it's just normal volatility, and there's no change in our overall opening plan. On your second question, I'm very happy to share with you that our Hanting 4.0 version have recognized -- have achieved both market and franchisees recognition. The new version of Hanting, the RevPAR performance is meaningfully better than the older version. And after we rolled out Hanting, Ji the number of hotels of Hanting, JI in operation and in pipeline actually quickly exceeded 200. The overall development is actually better than our expectation. The operational performance of Hanting, JI that in operation is also very strong. I think both the two points that I mentioned above actually shows you that Huazhu has very strong capability in high-quality development in the economy hotel segment, and we have -- we are very strong in executing. Going forward, we will continue to upgrade our Hanting's older version of hotel to go through the overall Hanting hotels portfolio to improve the overall hotel portfolio quality. Meanwhile, we will also to -- with the Hanting product, we also provide the product that's available for those smaller properties for them to open under our Hanting brand. To conclude, I think under the overall economy segment, it will have very big growth potential to capture the market. Operator: The next question comes from the line of Jiwei Liu from Citic. Jiwei Liu: [Interpreted] The company now has more than 1,700 upper mid-scale hotel properties. What's your view on this year's supply-demand balance in the upper mid-scale hotel segment? Will you speed up expansion? Also, JI Grand has opened in Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Wuhan. [Technical Difficulty] Operator: We still have the participant connected. I believe the signal was cut... Are you able to repeat your questions, please? Jiwei Liu: I'm Jiwei from Citic. The company has more than 1,700 upper mid-scale hotel properties. What's your view on this year's supply-demand balance in the upper mid-scale hotel segment? We will speed up expansion. Also, JI Grand has opened in Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Wuhan. Could you give more color on its operating performance on the development road map? Hui Jin: [Interpreted] Let me answer your questions related to the upper mid-scale segment. Yes, upper mid-scale segment is one of H World's core strategic area, and we continue to put effort into the brand building as well as the overall development in this segment. For the upper mid-scale market in China, we do see good development opportunities. We actually see opportunities from two fronts. One is that the upper mid-scale segment actually has opportunities from consumption upgrade. While at the same time, it's also taken some of the demand from those traditional upscale hotels. And for H World, we will continue to insist on our multi-brand strategy. We will be building on our Grand JI, on Crystal, on Intercity as well as Mercure. We will be using this four core flagship brand to achieve fast development and market share gain in the upper mid-scale segment. Currently, for the intercity hotel, it has been growing very strongly, and we are very confident on the future growth for this brand. And you mentioned Grand JI. For the Grand JI, we have been gradually signing and opening some hotels. As of now, the number of Grand JI in pipeline have already exceeded 20 hotels. At this moment, we'll be really focusing on building Grand JI at those very prime locations. We are still refining the overall business model. So we'll be relatively cautious on like developing the quantity of it. But we are very positive on what Grand JI has already achieved in terms of the customer reputation, the brand reputation and the product model. In the future, we believe Grand JI has very big growth potential, and we are very optimistic on it. Yes. We are very confident that Grand JI will become a flagship in China's upper mid-scale segment, and we're really working hard on that. Thank you. Operator: Your next question comes from Ronald Leung from Bank of America. Ronald Leung: [Interpreted] Let me translate my question in English. My question is related to the membership system. Could management comment on the latest breakdown in terms of the customer acquisition channel? Also, could management comment on the strategy in terms of optimizing the membership system? Hui Jin: [Interpreted] Let me answer the question related to our members. Yes, member is one of our core strategy for H World operation, and it's also one of our core competitive advantages. Right now, the overall member -- the increase of the members as well as the member contribution in the booking is in line with our expectation. Of course, as we are entering into more markets, for example, leisure market, the inbound market as well as those lower-tier cities market, H World membership do need to -- need some time to grab those traffic from those new markets for us. But meanwhile, the OTA contribution is actually quite stable at around 20% to 25%. We do believe that when we enter those new markets, we do need OTA support, especially for inbound and lower-tier cities. And related to the overall strategy and the future strategic operations for H Reward members, I will conclude it in three areas. Firstly is for the H Reward members, we do emphasize on the best benefit for our members. This one is one of the key strategy for us. This includes the best price, includes breakfast and et cetera. And going forward, we are also doing more work on innovation. For example, recently, we actually launched the family card under our H Reward membership. And it actually received quite good feedback from the market. So secondly is on the cross-industry partnership. You may have already noticed that last year, we actually partnered with DB. And this year, we're partnering with multiple airline companies as well as new energy vehicle companies to really to work with those multiple business sectors. This will -- the cross-industry partnership will also be one of our important strategy. Lastly is our international or overseas member development. In the second quarter, we deepened our cooperation with Accor on the membership partnership. On the one hand is really to take more -- to capture more inbound demand. And also it allows Chinese consumers to be able to -- or Chinese travelers to be able to stay in our Accor's hotel when they go aboard. So we're really working on that. So to conclude on the three points. One is on the membership operation. Secondly, it's on the cross-industry partnership. And thirdly, it's on the international development for H Reward. Operator: Your next question comes from Simon Cheung from Goldman Sachs. Simon Cheung: [Interpreted] so my questions in relation to the EBITDA margin trend. Over the last couple of quarters, they have seen a nice 3%, 4% margin expansion in China, but yet in overseas markets, the margins, they see some sluggish or slippage. Wondering whether management do have any guidance going into the second half and also for the full year. Arthur Yu: [Interpreted] Thank you, Simon. This is Arthur. I will answer your questions. So on the overall margin front, and as the group continue to push forward our asset-light strategy, in the mid- to long term, we do expect company's adjusted EBITDA margin to continue to expand. On the SG&A front, we have been making really good delivery in the quarter. This is supported by our very mature and development cost control system. But at the same time, we are also very clear that in order for H World to achieve a long-term sustainable growth, we have to make necessary strategic investments. For example, in the talent development, in technology and AI in our H Reward membership building, in brand building, et cetera. So in those kind of -- those areas, we'll be making reasonable and long-term and effective investments. So for the outlook of our second half profitability and cost, we will maintain very stable. On our international business, yes, our international business was in some way impacted by the Middle East conflict. For our HWI in the Middle East and in Egypt, we have more than 20 hotels, but they are all managed and franchised hotels. So they have limited impact actually on our HWI's revenue and profit. Despite the impact of Middle East conflict on the traffic and the overall operational cost, for a H World, we are actually doing more cost control for HWI. So by doing that, the overall impact of the Middle East is actually controllable. So for the full year, we maintain our goal of achieving a positive profit for our HWI business. Operator: This concludes today's question-and-answer session. I'll now hand the call back to Ivy Luo for closing remarks. Ivy Luo: Thank you, everyone, for taking your time with us today. This will conclude today's call, and we look forward to seeing you in the upcoming quarter. Goodbye. Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. 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This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue: Group revenue grew 10.8% year over year to RMB7.1 billion in Q2 2026. China Revenue: Increased 14.9% year over year to RMB5.9 billion. International Revenue: Decreased 5.8% year over year to RMB1.3 billion, due to closure of leased hotels. Adjusted EBITDA: Increased 20% year over year to RMB2.7 billion, with margin expanding 3 percentage points to 38.3%. Adjusted Net Income: Grew 26.9% year over year to RMB1.7 billion, with margin improving 3 percentage points to 24%. Manachised and Franchise (MNF) Revenue: Grew 24.2% year over year to RMB3.6 billion. MNF Gross Operating Profit: Increased 18.5% year over year to RMB2.2 billion. Total Operating Cost: Increased 7.4% year over year, slower than revenue growth. SG&A Expenses: Rose 6.1% year over year, slower than revenue growth. RevPAR (China): Increased 1.1% year over year in Q2 2026. ADR (China): Increased 2.6% year over year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of positive ADR growth. Hotel GMV: Grew 13.2% year over year to RMB30.5 billion. Rooms in Operation: Increased 7% year over year. Hotels in Operation (China): Reached 13,417 as of end June 2026. Hotels in Pipeline (China): Reached 3,054 as of end June 2026, increasing both year over year and quarter over quarter. Upper Mid-Scale Brands (China): Had 1,738 hotels in operation and in pipeline, up 13.4% year over year. HWI RevPAR: Decreased 3.8% year over year in Q2 2026, with ADR up 0.9% and occupancy down 3.5 percentage points. European RevPAR: Grew 1.1% year over year in Q2 2026. Shareholder Return Plan: Board approved a new three-year plan with an aggregated amount of USD2.5 billion, including an ordinary cash dividend of approximately USD275 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 1 Warning Sign with HTHT. Is HTHT fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 17, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) reported strong financial performance in Q2 2026, with group revenue up 10.8% year-over-year to RMB7.1 billion and adjusted net income up 26.9% to RMB1.7 billion. The company's asset-light manachised and franchise (MNF) business showed robust growth, with revenue increasing 25.2% year-over-year to RMB3.6 billion and gross operating profit up 18.5%. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of positive ADR growth in China, with ADR up 2.6% year-over-year, leading to a 1.1% RevPAR increase. The company's hotel network expansion remains on track, with 13,417 hotels in operation in China and a pipeline of 3,054 hotels, supporting its goal of 20,000 hotels in 2,000 cities. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) announced a new three-year shareholder return plan of USD2.5 billion, including an ordinary cash dividend of approximately USD275 million, reflecting strong cash flow and balance sheet. The company's flagship brands, including JI Hotel and HanTing, achieved top global rankings for single-brand room counts, underscoring brand strength and market leadership. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) maintained its full-year RevPAR outlook and hotel opening guidance, despite short-term weather disruptions, indicating management confidence in long-term growth. The company's membership program and direct sales capabilities continue to strengthen, with steady growth in member room nights and cross-industry partnerships, including with Accor for international expansion. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT)'s international business (HWI) saw a 3.8% year-over-year decline in RevPAR in Q2 2026, impacted by the Middle East conflict and ramp-up of Southeast Asia expansion. The company's international revenue decreased 5.8% year-over-year to RMB1.3 billion, partly due to the closure of leased hotels, which reduced lease revenue. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) experienced slower hotel openings in the first half of 2026, with 1,035 hotels opened, 20% below the same period last year, though management attributes this to normal volatility. The company noted that severe weather during the summer holiday season negatively affected operational results in some markets, leading to performance below expectations in the first half of summer. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) faces challenges in new markets, such as lower-tier cities and inbound travel, where member contribution to bookings is still ramping up, requiring reliance on OTAs. The company's upper midscale segment, while growing, is still in the refinement stage, with brands like Grand Ji being developed cautiously, which may limit near-term expansion speed. H World Group Ltd (NASDAQ:HTHT) acknowledged that total domestic travel spending growth moderated to 2% year-over-year in the first half, reflecting more prudent consumer spending, which could pressure future revenue growth. The company's international margins were negatively impacted by the Middle East conflict, though management noted the impact is controllable and maintains a goal of positive profit for HWI. Q: What is the management's latest expectation for the third quarter and full-year RevPAR trend, given volatile travel demand and extreme weather during the summer peak season? A: CEO Hui Jin stated that China's leisure travel demand is still steadily growing, with consumers treating it as a necessity. While severe weather negatively impacted some regions in the first half of the summer holiday, the overall trend is recovering in August. Despite macro uncertainties, management maintains a cautiously optimistic view and has kept its full-year 2026 RevPAR guidance unchanged. Q: The company opened 1,035 hotels in the first half, which is 20% below the same period last year. Is there a structural change in the seasonality of hotel openings, and what is the progress on the HanTing 4.0 upgrade? A: CEO Hui Jin clarified that the 498 openings in Q2 were in line with plan, and the pipeline increased both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. The company maintains its full-year opening guidance of 2,200 to 2,300 hotels, attributing the first-half variance to normal volatility. Regarding HanTing 4.0, the new version has achieved strong market and franchisee recognition, with operational performance meaningfully better than older versions. The number of HanTing Inn hotels in operation and pipeline has quickly exceeded 200, and the company will continue upgrading its existing portfolio. Q: What is the company's view on the supply-demand balance in the upper midscale hotel segment, and will it speed up expansion? Can you provide more color on the Grand Ji brand's operating performance and development roadmap? A: CEO Hui Jin stated that the upper midscale segment is a core strategic area with good development opportunities, benefiting from both consumption upgrades and demand shifting from traditional upscale hotels. The company will continue its multi-brand strategy centered on Grand Ji, Crystal, Intercity, and Mercure. While Intercity is growing strongly, Grand Ji is being developed cautiously, with over 20 hotels in the pipeline. Management is focusing on prime locations and refining the business model, expressing high confidence in Grand Ji's future potential as a flagship brand in China's upper midscale segment. Q: Can management comment on the latest breakdown of customer acquisition channels and the strategy for optimizing the membership system? A: CEO Hui Jin explained that member growth and contribution are in line with expectations, with OTA contribution remaining stable at around 20% to 25%. The strategy focuses on three areas: 1) Emphasizing the best benefits for members, including best price and breakfast, with recent innovations like the family card receiving good feedback; 2) Deepening cross-industry partnerships with airlines and new energy vehicle companies; and 3) Accelerating international member development, including deepening cooperation with Accor to capture inbound travel demand and serve Chinese travelers abroad. Q: What is the guidance for EBITDA margin trends in the second half and full year, given the margin expansion in China but slippage overseas? A: CFO Arthur Yu stated that the group expects adjusted EBITDA margin to continue expanding in the mid-to-long term, supported by the asset-light strategy and mature cost control systems. However, necessary strategic investments will be made in talent, technology, AI, and brand building. For the international business, the Middle East conflict has had a limited impact on revenue and profit as the 20+ hotels in the region are franchised. The company maintains its full-year goal of achieving positive profit for the HWI business. Q: What were the key drivers behind the group's strong profit growth in the second quarter? A: CFO Arthur Yu reported that adjusted EBITDA increased 20% year-over-year to RMB2.7 billion, with margins expanding 3 percentage points to 38.3%. This was driven by a growing profit contribution from the asset-light manachised and franchise business, which saw revenue grow 25.2% year-over-year to RMB3.6 billion, coupled with well-controlled G&A expenses that grew slower than revenue. Q: How is the company's hotel network expansion progressing, particularly in lower-tier cities and core markets? A: CEO Hui Jin highlighted that the company achieved high-quality network expansion with a 7% year-over-year increase in rooms in operation. As of end June, there were 13,417 hotels in operation in China, with a pipeline of 3,054 hotels covering 1,468 cities. The company is progressing toward its goal of 20,000 hotels in 2,000 cities, while also optimizing its footprint in core cities and prime commercial districts. Q: What is the performance of the international business, particularly in Europe and the Asia Pacific region? A: CEO Hui Jin noted that HWI's blended RevPAR decreased 3.8% year-over-year in Q2, affected by the Middle East conflict and Southeast Asia expansion ramp-up. However, the Europe business delivered solid performance with RevPAR growing 1.1% year-over-year, driven by improvements in both ADR and occupancy. The company will continue optimizing operational efficiency in Europe while pushing forward its strategic layout in the Asia Pacific market. Q: What is the company's shareholder return plan following the completion of the previous plan? A: CFO Arthur Yu announced that the company completed its 2024 shareholder return plan one year ahead of schedule. The Board has approved a new three-year shareholder return plan with an aggregate amount of USD2.5 billion, effective immediately. As the first distribution under this new plan, the Board approved an ordinary cash dividend of approximately USD275 million. Q: How is the company addressing social responsibility and sustainability initiatives? A: CEO Hui Jin outlined three key areas: 1) Boosting local employment, with total employees exceeding 20,000 as of end June and refined internal talent development programs; 2) Pursuing energy-saving management solutions for hotels, sharing proven practices with franchisees to reduce costs and improve returns; and 3) Supporting social welfare initiatives through the group's charity foundation, including educational assistance and post-disaster support programs. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Interested in H World Group Limited Sponsored ADR? Here are five stocks we like better. H World delivered strong Q2 financial results: Revenue rose 10.8% year over year to RMB7.1 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 20% to RMB2.7 billion and adjusted net income grew 26.9% to RMB1.7 billion. Margin expansion was supported by faster growth in managed and franchised operations and disciplined expense control. China operations continued to expand: China revenue increased 14.9%, ADR rose 2.6% and RevPAR improved 1.1%. H World operated 13,417 Chinese hotels at quarter-end, opened 498 during the quarter and maintained its target of 2,200–2,300 new hotels for the full year. International performance remained mixed, but shareholder returns increased: International RevPAR declined 3.8%, primarily because of Middle East-related disruption and Southeast Asia expansion costs, while European RevPAR rose 1.1%. The company launched a new three-year, $2.5 billion shareholder-return plan, including an approximately $275 million cash dividend. MarketBeat’s Top-Rated Dividend Stocks for 2026 H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) reported second-quarter revenue growth and higher profitability, supported by expansion in China, improving room rates and continued growth in its managed and franchised hotel business. Group revenue rose 10.8% year over year to RMB7.1 billion in the second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Arthur Yu said. China revenue increased 14.9% to RMB5.9 billion, while international revenue declined 5.8% to RMB1.3 billion, primarily because of leased-hotel closures and lower lease revenue. → Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins 3 Hotel Stocks Earning Five Star Ratings From Markets In July Adjusted EBITDA increased 20% from a year earlier to RMB2.7 billion, and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 3 percentage points to 38.3%. Adjusted net income rose 26.9% to RMB1.7 billion, with the adjusted net income margin also improving by 3 percentage points to 24%. Chief Executive Officer Jin Hui said China’s domestic travel market continued to grow during the first half of 2026. Domestic resident trips reached 3.5 billion, up 5.4% year over year, according to figures cited from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Domestic travel spending rose 2% to RMB3.2 trillion, which management said reflected more frequent travel but more prudent consumer spending. → Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing H World China’s average daily rate, or ADR, increased 2.6% year over year in the second quarter, marking the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of positive ADR growth. RevPAR, or revenue per available room, increased 1.1%. The company’s hotel gross merchandise value rose 13.2% year over year to RMB30.5 billion. The number of rooms in operation increased 12.7% from a year earlier, while room nights booked by members also grew, management said. → AirJoule Technologies: Short Squeeze Setup Amid Rising Risks As of June 30, H World operated 13,417 hotels in China and had 3,054 hotels in its pipeline. Its operating and pipeline properties covered 1,468 Chinese cities. The company reiterated its longer-term objective of reaching 20,000 hotels in 2,000 cities. Management said it is expanding in lower-tier cities while continuing to pursue locations in core cities and prime commercial districts. The company opened 498 hotels during the second quarter. It maintained its full-year opening target of 2,200 to 2,300 hotels, despite first-half openings being affected by comparison with the prior-year base and supply-chain factors. Managed and franchised revenue increased by about 25% year over year to RMB3.6 billion, while gross operating profit from the business rose 18.5% to RMB2.2 billion. Yu said the growing contribution from asset-light operations, along with controlled general and administrative expenses, supported the company’s margin expansion. Hotel operating costs increased 7.4% year over year and selling, general and administrative expenses rose 6.1%, both below the group’s revenue growth rate. Management highlighted the performance of its economy and midscale brands, including HanTing, JI Hotel and Orange Hotel. Jin said newer HanTing and JI properties have delivered meaningful RevPAR improvement compared with older versions. More than 55% of HanTing hotels are version 3.5 or newer, according to an analyst’s question on the call. Management said the number of HanTing Inn hotels in operation and in the pipeline had exceeded 200, with development and operating performance surpassing expectations. The company plans to continue upgrading older HanTing hotels while using HanTing Inn to serve smaller properties. In the upper-midscale segment, H World China had 1,738 hotels in operation and in the pipeline as of the end of June, up 13.4% year over year. Management identified IntercityHotel, Grand JI, Crystal Orange Hotel and Mercure as its four key upper-midscale brands. Grand JI had more than 20 hotels in its pipeline, though the company said it would remain selective and focus on prime locations while refining the business model. H World International’s blended RevPAR declined 3.8% year over year in the second quarter. ADR increased 0.9%, while occupancy declined 3.5 percentage points. Management attributed the result to the Middle East conflict and the ramp-up period for Southeast Asia expansion. The company’s European business posted a 1.1% increase in RevPAR, supported by improvements in both ADR and occupancy. Yu said the Middle East impact on H World International’s financial results was controllable because its more than 20 hotels in the Middle East and Egypt are managed and franchised properties. The company maintained its goal of achieving positive profit for its international business for the full year. Management said July travel demand in certain regions was affected by severe weather, and the first half of the summer holiday period came in below expectations in some markets. However, it said August trends had recovered so far. H World maintained its full-year RevPAR view, while describing the broader demand outlook as cautiously optimistic amid macroeconomic uncertainty. Yu said H World completed its 2024 shareholder return plan one year ahead of schedule. The board approved a new three-year shareholder return plan totaling $2.5 billion, effective immediately. As the first distribution under the program, the board also approved an ordinary cash dividend of approximately $275 million. The company said its membership program, H Rewards, remains central to its direct-sales strategy. Management said online travel agency contribution has remained stable at roughly 20% to 25%, while the company expands into lower-tier cities, leisure markets and inbound travel. Planned membership initiatives include enhanced benefits, cross-industry partnerships and expanded international membership offerings. H World Group, formerly known as Huazhu Group, is a leading hotel management and franchising company primarily serving the China market. The company operates a broad portfolio of midscale to luxury hotel brands, including Hi Inn, Blossom, Manxin, Madison International, Joya, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure and ibis. Through a network of both directly managed and franchised properties, H World Group caters to business and leisure travelers by offering consistent service standards and loyalty benefits across its brands. In addition to its core hotel operations, H World Group provides technology-driven hospitality solutions such as centralized reservation systems, revenue management platforms and customer relationship management tools. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "H World Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) shares climbed 5.32% in pre-market trading on Monday after the hotel operator delivered second-quarter results above analyst expectations and raised its revenue outlook for 2026. Adjusted earnings per ADS came in at $0.78, ahead of the consensus forecast of $0.72. Revenue increased 10.8% year-on-year to RMB7.12 billion ($1.05 billion), beating analysts’ estimate of RMB6.78 billion. Following the stronger quarter, H World upgraded its full-year 2026 revenue guidance and now expects growth of between 4% and 8% compared with 2025. The previous forecast called for an increase of between 2% and 6%. The midpoint of the new range, at 6%, is also above typical analyst expectations for the period. H World additionally raised its guidance for manachised and franchised revenue growth to between 16% and 20%, compared with its previous forecast of 12% to 16%. H World China was the main contributor to the group’s performance, with segment revenue rising 14.9% year-on-year to RMB5.9 billion. Within the division, manachised and franchised revenue increased 25.2% to RMB3.6 billion. Performance was weaker internationally, with H World International revenue declining 5.8% year-on-year to RMB1.3 billion. “During the second quarter, we delivered another quarter of RevPAR expansion,” said Jin Hui, CEO of H World. “Our blended HWC ADR rose 2.6% year-on-year, fueling a 1.1% year-over-year lift in blended RevPAR.” Net income attributable to H World reached RMB1.6 billion ($232 million), representing an increase of 2.1% compared with the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA rose to RMB2.7 billion ($401 million), up from RMB2.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025. The combination of higher revenue, expanding RevPAR and improved adjusted EBITDA provided further evidence of stronger operating momentum in the company’s core Chinese business. Alongside its quarterly results, H World’s board approved a three-year shareholder return programme totalling $2.5 billion. The company also declared an ordinary cash dividend of $0.87 per ADS, representing an aggregate distribution of approximately $275 million. As of June 30, 2026, H World operated 13,539 hotels comprising 1,335,445 rooms across 21 countries, giving the group a substantial global footprint as it continues expanding its hotel network. The earnings beat, higher full-year guidance and sizeable shareholder return programme helped drive the positive pre-market reaction to the results. H World Group stock price

SINGAPORE and SHANGHAI, Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- H World Group Limited ("H World" or the "Group") (NASDAQ: HTHT; HKEX: 1179), one of the world's leading hotel groups, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026, delivering strong profitability, continued improvement in its asset-light business and another quarter of solid execution. As of June 30, 2026, the Group operated 13,539 hotels or 1,335,445 hotel rooms, with a pipeline of 3,089 hotels. For the quarter, hotel GMV reached RMB 30.5 billion, representing an increase of 13.2% year-on-year. Jin Hui, CEO of H World commented: "During the second quarter, we delivered another quarter of RevPAR expansion. Our blended H World China ADR rose 2.6% year-on-year, fueling a 1.1% year-over-year lift in blended RevPAR. This performance was underpinned by ongoing product upgrades and a suite of revenue-management optimization initiatives. Meanwhile, our hotel network kept expanding at a solid pace, with 498 newly-opened hotels across China; and the number of hotels in our pipeline grew both year-over-year and quarter-over quarter. We remain firmly on track to hit our full‐ year gross opening guidance of 2,200 ‐ 2,300 hotels." Strong Financial Performance H World delivered a strong financial performance during the second quarter, with revenue increasing 10.8% year-over-year to RMB7.1 billion. Total adjusted EBITDA increased 20.0% year-on-year to RMB 2.7 billion. Manachised and franchised ("M&F") revenue increased 25.2% year-over-year to RMB3.6 billion over the same period last year. Gross operating profit from the M&F business increased 18.5% to RMB 2.2 billion, reflecting continued progress of the Group's asset-light operating strategy. Accelerating Shareholder Returns The Group has completed ahead of schedule the US$2 billion shareholder return plan announced in 2024, underscoring the strength of its cash generation and balance sheet. Building on this progress, the Board has approved a new three-year shareholder return plan with an aggregate amount of US$ 2.5 billion effective from August 17, 2026, through cash dividends and share repurchases. Looking ahead, H World will remain focused on delivering 'brand-led' high-quality hotel network expansion, backed by its H Rewards membership program, technology development, and further driving operational efficiency. For the full-year of 2026, H World raised its guidance of revenue growth to the range of 4%-8%. For the full release please visit: https://ir.hworld.com/news-releases/news-release-details/h-world-group-limited-reports-second-quarter-and-interim-2026 About H World Group Limited Originated in China, H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT; HKEX: 01179) is a key player in the global hotel industry. Over the past 20 years, H World has developed into a leading hospitality group with a presence across diverse market segments, from economy to upper-midscale and lifestyle hotels. H World's brands include HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel, Zleep Hotels and Steigenberger Icons. In addition, H World holds the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel in the pan-China region. For more information, please visit H World's website: https://ir.hworld.com H World undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. For media inquiry, please contact:[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/h-world-group-reports-strong-second-quarter-2026-performance-and-announces-new-shareholder-return-plan-302852876.html

H World Group (HTHT) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.78 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.74 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.59 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +5.41%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this hotel operator would post earnings of $0.46 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.49, delivering a surprise of +6.52%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. H World Group, which belongs to the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry, posted revenues of $1.05 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.84%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $897 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. H World Group shares have lost about 11% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13.7%. While H World Group has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for H World Group was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.80 on $1.05 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $2.67 on $3.88 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Hotels and Motels is currently in the bottom 27% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (ASO), is yet to report results for the quarter ended July 2026. This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.12 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +9.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $1.66 billion, up 3.7% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report H World Group Limited Sponsored ADR (HTHT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (ASO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when H World Group (HTHT) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on August 17. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. This hotel operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +25.4%. Revenues are expected to be $982.8 million, up 9.6% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.35% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For H World Group, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that H World Group will beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that H World Group would post earnings of $0.46 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.49, delivering a surprise of +6.52%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. H World Group doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report H World Group Limited Sponsored ADR (HTHT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

SINGAPORE and SHANGHAI, Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“H World”, “we” or “our”) a key player in the global hotel industry, today announced that it will schedule to release its unaudited financial results for the second quarter and interim of 2026 on Monday, August 17, 2026 (Hong Kong time), after the trading hours of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and before the opening of the U.S. market. H World’s management will host a conference call at 7 a.m. (U.S. Eastern time) on Monday, August 17, 2026 (or 7 p.m. (Hong Kong time) on Monday, August 17, 2026) following the announcement. To join by phone, all participants must pre-register this conference call using the Participant Registration link of https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI5e31bbbd257d4448ba4120bb310afe2b. Upon registration, each participant will receive details for the conference call, including dial-in numbers, conference call passcode and a unique access PIN. A live webcast of the call can be accessed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/3gwfteju or the Company’s website at https://ir.hworld.com/news-and-events/events-calendar. A replay of the conference call will be available for twelve months from the date of the conference at the Company’s website, https://ir.hworld.com/news-and-events/events-calendar. About H World Group LimitedOriginated in China, H World Group Limited is a key player in the global hotel industry. As of March 31, 2026, H World operated 13,215 hotels with 1,303,563 rooms in operation in 21 countries. H World’s brands include HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Grand JI Hotel, Hi Inn, Ni Hao Hotel, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Starway Hotel, CitiGO, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, MAXX Hotel, Blossom House, Joya Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Jaz in the City, Steigenberger Icons and Song Hotels. In addition, H World also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region. H World’s business includes L&O and M&F models. Under the L&O model, H World directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, H World manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that H World appoints, and H World collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, H World provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. H World applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of March 31, 2026, H World operated 7 percent of its hotel rooms under the L&O model, and 93 percent under the M&F model. For more information, please visit H World’s website: https://ir.hworld.com. Safe Harbor Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; economic conditions; the regulatory environment; our ability to attract and retain customers and leverage our brands; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of demand for lodging; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results. H World undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Contact InformationInvestor RelationsTel: +86 (21) 6195 9561Email: [email protected] https://ir.hworld.com

Marriott International (MAR) came out with quarterly earnings of $3.19 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.06 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.65 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +4.25%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this hotel company would post earnings of $2.58 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.72, delivering a surprise of +5.43%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Marriott, which belongs to the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry, posted revenues of $7.07 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.6%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $6.74 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Marriott shares have added about 20.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.4%. While Marriott has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Marriott was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.93 on $7.03 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $11.66 on $28.02 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Hotels and Motels is currently in the bottom 12% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, H World Group (HTHT), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. This hotel operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +25.4%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.4% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. H World Group's revenues are expected to be $982.8 million, up 9.6% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report H World Group Limited Sponsored ADR (HTHT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

SINGAPORE and SHANGHAI, June 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“H World” or the “Company”), a key player in the global hotel industry, today announced that the 2026 annual general meeting of the Company (the “AGM”) was held on June 26, 2026. During the AGM, the following proposed resolutions were duly passed: the ordinary resolution as set out in the notice of the AGM dated May 11, 2026 (the “Notice of AGM”) regarding the ratification of appointment of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP as auditor of the Company for 2026 and the authorization for the directors of the Company to determine the remuneration of the auditor; the ordinary resolution as set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting regarding the authorization of the re-election of Mr. Justin Martin Leverenz (appointed by the board of directors of the Company on August 15, 2025) as a director of the Company; the ordinary resolution as set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting regarding the authorization of the re-election of Ms. Yi Zhang (alias Bonnie Yi Zhang) (appointed by the board of directors of the Company on August 15, 2025) as an independent director and the chairwoman of the audit committee of the Company; and the ordinary resolution as set out in the Notice of AGM regarding the authorization of each director or officer of the Company or Conyers Trust Company (Cayman) Limited to take any and every action that might be necessary, appropriate or desirable to effect the foregoing resolutions as such director, officer or Conyers Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, in his, her or its absolute discretion, thinks fit and to attend to any necessary registration and/or filing for and on behalf of the Company. About H World Group Limited Originated in China, H World Group Limited is a key player in the global hotel industry. As of March 31, 2026, H World operated 13,215 hotels with 1,303,563 rooms in operation in 21 countries. H World’s brands include HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Grand JI Hotel, Hi Inn, Ni Hao Hotel, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Starway Hotel, CitiGO, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, MAXX Hotel, Blossom House, Joya Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Jaz in the City, Steigenberger Icons and Song Hotels. In addition, H World also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region. H World’s business includes L&O and M&F models. Under the L&O model, H World directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, H World manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that H World appoints, and H World collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, H World provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. H World applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of March 31, 2026, H World operated 7 percent of its hotel rooms under the L&O model, and 93 percent under the M&F model. For more information, please visit H World’s website: https://ir.hworld.com. Contact InformationInvestor RelationsTel: +86 (21) 6195 9561Email: [email protected]://ir.hworld.com