Marriott shares slump as its record 2024 room growth doesn’t look like it’ll hold

Despite an earnings beat and a room count record in 2024, Marriott shares are down more than 5% today.

For 2025, the hotel is forecasting net room growth to come in lower than the 6.8% it saw last year (more than 123,000 rooms). Marriott’s expecting growth of around 4% to 5% this year.

Marriott operates more than 9,300 properties globally. Its loyalty program, Bonvoy, added about 31 million new members last year, growing to 228 million.

Like other major travel players, including Delta Air Lines, Marriott’s co-branded credit cards (chiefly with Chase and American Express) have turned into a big revenue driver: the chain said spending on its 33 cards saw a strong boost last year and the fees it charges banks rose 10%. This year, it anticipates slightly less.

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Tom Jones

closing out

Diageo is considering selling parts of its struggling China business

The Guinness and Johnnie Walker giant has its work cut out in the nation, where drinking has sunk since 2015.

Max Knoblauch1/12/26

Paramount sues Warner Bros. for more info on its deal with Netflix, says it plans to nominate new directors

It’s a fresh week and that means a fresh bit of escalation in the ongoing Warner Bros. Discovery merger drama.

At an upcoming meeting, Paramount Skydance plans to “nominate a slate of [WBD] directors who, in accordance with their fiduciary duties, will... enter into a transaction with Paramount,” CEO David Ellison wrote in a letter to WBD shareholders disclosed on Monday.

Ellison also said that Paramount sued WBD in Delaware court in an effort to force the board to disclose “basic information” that will allow shareholders to make an informed decision between Paramount’s offer and one from Netflix. WBD shares dipped about 2% on Monday morning.

The latest update follows Paramount’s move last week to reaffirm — but not raise — its $30-per-share offer for WBD. Some saw that decision as Paramount effectively throwing in the towel on its merger hopes, given that the same deal has been rejected twice by the WBD board and winning over shareholders directly is a difficult process. Monday’s disclosure appears to signal that whether it loses or not, Paramount isn’t going to make Netflix’s acquisition easy.

Hyunsoo Rim

one battle after another

1/12/26

Saks Global nears bankruptcy as department stores lose ground in America

On top of its debt-laden luxury merger, the retailer’s operating in a sector that’s been in retreat for over 20 years.

Claire Yubin Oh

QLO-UP

1/9/26

Uniqlo’s shiny international stores are pumping its sales as it targets Inditex’s crown

Even Uniqlo’s Japan business now sees 10% of its revenue coming from foreign tourists.

Paramount vs. Netflix:

1/8/26

IS THIS THE FINALE?

Nate Becker

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