By Elias Schisgall
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management said Norwegian Cruise Line's fourth-quarter results and guidance are evidence of a pattern of missteps that reinforce the need for new board members.
The cruise ship operator reported a decline in profit on Monday and said it expects its performance this year to be hit by the consequences of previous missteps, including a mistimed ramp-up in Caribbean capacity, projecting a 1% decline in net yields during the first quarter.
"Norwegian's disappointing outlook for 2026 falls meaningfully short of the Company's potential," Elliott said in a statement. "Commentary on today's earnings call reinforced a troubling pattern of execution lapses and strategic missteps across the business that have been years in the making."
Elliott has built a more than 10% stake in the company and is pushing for a turnaround effort. Norwegian last month brought in a new chief executive, John Chidsey, but Elliott said Monday that changes to the board of directors are still necessary.
"These persistent shortcomings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive Board refreshment to restore accountability, strengthen oversight and rebuild investor confidence," the firm said.
During an analyst call Monday morning, Chidsey said the company needs to streamline its bureaucracy and build team cohesion.
"Our commercial strategy, including our sales, marketing, pricing strategy and revenue-management tools, were not aligned with our deployment," Chidsey said. "As a result, certain itineraries did not receive the coordinated commercial support required to maximize performance and yields, which is weighing on our expected performance for the full year."
A deadline for shareholders to nominate director candidates to Norwegian's board closes this month, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2026 16:04 ET (21:04 GMT)
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