Marriott Beats, Shares Lower Pre-Market

Hotelier Marriott International said Thursday morning its 2Q net income rose 8.9% to $207 million, good for EPS of $0.51, after one-time items. Without those items, which included a settlement with the IRS, EPS would have been $0.57. Revenue for the quarter was $3.21 billion. Consensus estimates called for EPS of $0.53 on revenue of $3.16 billion. Looking ahead, Marriott expects revenue per available room in N. America to rise 6% to 7% with EPS totaling $1.88 to $1.96 for the full year. With expectations it will open 30,000 new room in both 2007 and 2008, Marriott Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr. believes the company has "great reason to be excited about the future." Shares are lower by 0.76% in pre-market action, as of 8:07 a.m. after gaining 1.4% in trading Wednesday.

Sources: Press Release, MarketWatch, Reuters, AP [check back for MAR's conference call transcript later today]
Commentary: Marriott and Schrager to Develop Boutique Hotel Chain • Eight Hotel Stocks To Watch This Summer • Cramer's Take on MAR
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Marriott International (MAR). Competitors: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT), Hilton Hotels Corp. (HLT), Intercontinental Hotels Group plc (IHG). ETFs: Consumer Discretionary SPDR ETF (XLY), PowerShares Dynamic Consumer Discretionary (PEZ), Vanguard Consumer Discretionary VIPERs (VCR)
Conference call transcripts: Marriott and Schrager to Develop Boutique Hotel Chain

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