4. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)
Market Capitalization as of February 8: $39.875 billion
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It is a hospitality company that owns, leases, develops, and franchises hotels and resorts. It operates hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, Motto by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, and Hilton Grand Vacations. It is one of the most valuable hotel companies worldwide. The market cap on February 8 stood at nearly $40 billion.
Here is what Pershing Square Holdings specifically said about Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is a high-quality, asset-light, high-margin business with significant long-term growth potential, led by a superb management team. The unforeseen arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a rapid and near-complete standstill in global travel, with RevPAR (the industry metric for same-store sales at a given hotel) down roughly 90% at the nadir of the pandemic. We increased our investment in Hilton during the pandemic as we believed the economic dislocation from COVID-19 would prove to be transient and that industry projections regarding the timeline for recovery were too pessimistic.
From the moment the pandemic began, Hilton’s management team took decisive actions to ensure the company not only managed through what it knew would be a challenging period, but also positioned the company to generate improved margins, cash flows, and investment returns once the business recovered. In hindsight, Hilton’s experience with COVID-19 – the 100-year proverbial flood – affirmed the company’s unique high-quality, asset light, high-margin business model, and reinforced our belief that Hilton deserves a premium valuation.
While Hilton entered 2022 impacted by the Omicron variant, results have vastly improved throughout the year as COVID-19 has evolved towards a more endemic virus, and consumer behavior has adapted accordingly. In recent months, Hilton’s system-wide RevPAR has surpassed 2019 levels and continues to improve. Recent strength has been led by domestic leisure travel occasions as consumer spending continues to shift from goods to services. …” (Click here to read the full text)
