Choice Hotels International, Inc. reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results, with net income increasing by 16% to $299.7 million for the full year, representing diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.20, a 22% increase compared to 2023. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for full-year 2024 increased by 12% to a company record of $604.1 million, and adjusted diluted EPS increased by 13% to $6.88 for full-year 2024, compared to 2023.
The company increased its net global rooms system size by 3.3%, including 4.3% growth for the domestic upscale, extended stay, and midscale rooms portfolio, compared to December 31, 2023. They also opened 407 hotels globally, a 21% increase for full-year 2024 compared to 2023, including opening the 515th extended-stay hotel domestically in the fourth quarter.
Choice Hotels also entered into a strategic partnership with Westgate Resorts, adding 21 hotels and 14,471 rooms to their domestic portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2024. This expanded the Choice Privileges rewards program members' access to over 180,000 upscale, upper-upscale, and luxury rooms worldwide.
The company reported a 4.5% increase in domestic revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, outperforming the industry and the respective chain scales in which the company competes by 90 basis points and 30 basis points, respectively.
In terms of shareholder returns, the company paid cash dividends totaling $55.5 million and repurchased 3.1 million shares of common stock for $382.1 million during full-year 2024, representing 6% of the company’s market capitalization at the beginning of 2024.
Looking ahead, for full-year 2025, Choice Hotels expects net income to range between $288 to $300 million and adjusted EBITDA to range between $625 and $640 million. The company also provided an outlook for domestic RevPAR growth, domestic effective royalty rate growth, and global net system rooms growth for 2025 compared to 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, the company had a total available liquidity of $699.5 million, including available borrowing capacity and cash and equivalents, and its net debt leverage ratio was 2.9 times.
The company will conduct a live webcast to discuss the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings results on February 20, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. on the company’s investor relations website. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares -0.5% to a price of $147.0. For the full picture, make sure to review Choice Hotels International's 8-K report.
