Hilton’s CEO said America’s K-shaped economy is converging as lower-income consumers are spending more.
During a Tuesday earnings call, CEO Christopher Nassetta said that he expects “improving performance in the lower and mid-chain scales” in the rest of the year.
He said sales growth would continue to “move downstream from luxury and upper upscale toward a more balanced convergence demand shape, or what I have been calling a C-shaped economy.”
The term is a play on the K-shaped economy. Analysts and company executives have warned about the economy going K-shaped in recent months — a difference in spending behavior between high- and low-earners.
When asked why he predicted a “C-shaped economy,” Nassetta said factors like falling inflation, the expectation of lowered interest rates, and heavy investment in AI are “benefiting the middle and lower income consumer and driving broader demand growth.”
He said these were broad, big-picture trends, adding that people should “forget, for the moment, the spike in energy prices and oil because of the war in Iran.”
Hilton reported a 3.6% increase in RevPAR — a measure of revenue per available room — in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
Nassetta’s comments are at odds with those of other industry executives, who have warned that the K-shaped economy is more divided than ever. Executives of Delta Air Lines, Macy’s Inc, and Ralph Lauren previously said that their affluent customer base has driven sales.
On the other side of the “K-shape,” food and beverage brands are slashing prices to attract lower-income spenders.
PepsiCo’s CEO Ramon Laguarta announced in February that the company would cut the prices of some of its products, such as Lay’s, Doritos, and Cheetos, by up to 15%. And at the start of April, McDonald’s announced that it was expanding its value menu to include $3 items and $4 meal deals.
However, Visa’s CFO on a Wednesday earnings call gave promising indicators that consumer spending is holding strong.
Visa finance chief Christopher Suh said the US payment volume grew 8% in the latest quarter compared to the same period the year before, “reflecting resilience and consumer spending.”
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