Marriott International (MAR) 2020 Q4 Earnings Reports

Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) history goes back to 1927 when J. Willard Marriott and his wife Alice Marriott opened a root beer stand in Washington. They opened their first hotel in Virginia 30 years later. Since then, the company expanded and grew into a global hospitality chain, with thousands of hotels and lodging facilities around the world.

Like rivals, Marriott’s global operations were also severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown and travel restrictions weighed on the company’s revenue for the most part of 2020. Marriott stock’s value declined about 11 percent in 2020 due to the negative impact of the pandemic on its business.

Marriott on Thursday announced its financial results for the fourth quarter. It reported a loss of $164 million, or 50 cents per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, as compared to earnings of 85 cents per share in the same period of 2019. However, the adjusted profit of 12 cents per share was in line with the consensus forecast. Revenue fell 60 percent on a year-over-year basis to $2.172 billion, missing analysts’ average estimate of $2.408 billion.

Speaking on the results, senior executive Stephanie Linnartz said, “With the global pandemic, 2020 was the most challenging year in our 93-year history. In April, we experienced the sharpest worldwide RevPAR1 decline on record, down 90 percent year over year with just 12 percent occupancy. Demand around the world improved from this trough at varying rates, with China leading the way. RevPAR in mainland China saw a meaningful rebound through the year and was down less than 10 percent year over year in December.”

Marriott shares marginally moved up on Thursday following Q4 results. However, the stock jumped nearly 4 percent on Friday morning after Jefferies lifted their price target for Marriott from $145 per share to $155 per share.