Forensic Analysis · Hospitality & Leisure · as of Aug 7, 2026

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT)

A forensic read on Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

B · Sound & dependable

Forensic grade

Safe

Financial health

3.6

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

46.0

P / E (ttm)

$70.1B

Market cap

0.19%

Dividend yield

7.7%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (red flags, auditor quality, say on pay, board independence). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 3.6, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

164% of FCF

FY2025

Shareholder returns. Returned $3.3B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 164% of free cash flow. More than free cash flow generated — and beyond operating cash too, so the extra is coming from debt or cash reserves, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $170M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 172%.

27d

FY2015→FY2016

Inventory days. Days inventory outstanding moved from 22 to 27 FY2015→FY2016 (against revenue (COGS not disclosed); inventory +22% vs -8% in revenue). Inventory is building a little faster than sales — watch for markdowns.

$104M

FY2020–FY2020

Goodwill impairments. Took $104M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2020 ($104M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$12.04B

Revenue Growth YoY+7.7%

Revenue CAGR (3yr)+11.1%

Net Margin12.1%

Free Cash Flow$2.03B

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Aug 7, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.