By Callum Keown
Carnival stock looks set to chart a smooth course into 2025.
The cruise operator capped off a stellar year with a strong fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The shares jumped 4.4% to $26.29 in early trading.
Carnival posted adjusted earnings of 14 cents a share on record fourth-quarter revenue of $5.94 billion. The consensus forecast on Wall Street was for 8 cents a share, while sales were in line with estimates.
It has been a record year on a number of metrics for Carnival. Revenue for the 12 months through Nov. 30 hit $25 billion, while net income was $1.9 billion. Both numbers were the highest ever.
Carnival expects 2025 to be even better. It told investors it anticipates net income of $2.3 billion, a 20% jump from this year's record.
It has been another good year for cruise operators in general. Demand to travel and pricing have remained strong throughout 2024.
Coming into Friday's trading, Carnival is up 36% this year, Royal Caribbean has climbed 78%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has risen 27%. All three have outperformed the S&P 500's 23% gain.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 20, 2024 09:52 ET (14:52 GMT)
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