Carnival's stock jumps as there's no end in sight for record cruise demand

MW Carnival's stock jumps as there's no end in sight for record cruise demand

By Tomi Kilgore

Cruise operator continues string of bottom-line beats, as booking volumes are breaking records for 2026

Shares of Carnival Corp. rallied Friday, after the cruise operator beat earnings expectations, again, and said it was seeing sustained, record demand for even "further out" sailings.

The company said its record booked position is also coming with all-time highs for both price and occupancy.

With fiscal fourth-quarter revenue also reaching record levels, Chief Executive Josh Weinstein said, "This has been an incredibly strong finish to a record year."

The stock $(CCL)$ surged 2.5% in morning trading. That was enough to turn the stock positive on the month - it's now up 1.5% month to date - to put it on track for the fourth-straight monthly gain. That would be the longest such streak since the 14-month win streak that ended in August 2017.

"The cumulative advanced booked position for full year 2025 is at an all-time high for both price (in constant currency) and occupancy," the company said in a statement. Constant currency refers to an adjustment made to take out the effect of foreign-currency moves.

"Booking volumes taken during the fourth quarter for 2026 continued to break records, reflecting sustained demand even for further out sailings," the company said.

See related: Royal Caribbean CEO explains why cruises are so popular.

For the quarter to Nov. 30, the company swung to net income of $303 million, or 23 cents a share, from a loss of $48 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 14 cents topped the FactSet EPS consensus of 8 cents. That marked the ninth straight quarter of bottom-line beats.

Revenue climbed 10% to $5.94 billion, in line with expectations, as passenger ticket revenue rose 9.8% to $3.85 billion and onboard and other revenue grew 10.5% to $2.08 billion.

Occupancy improved to 103% from 101%, and passenger cruise days increased to 24.6 million from 23.6 million.

Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal first-quarter adjusted EPS of approximately breakeven, while the FactSet consensus is for a loss of 2 cents.

For the full year, adjusted EPS guidance of $1.70 compares with the FactSet consensus of $1.75.

Carnival's stock has run up 42.8% year to date, while rival Royal Caribbean Group shares $(RCL)$ have soared 95.2% and the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 22.7%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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December 20, 2024 10:23 ET (15:23 GMT)

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