Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) delivered another strong quarter, topping Wall Street’s estimates on both revenue and earnings, and lifted its full-year outlook for the third time on robust booking trends.
“This was a phenomenal quarter delivering all-time high net income and our tenth consecutive quarter of record revenues. Strong demand and onboard spending drove a 4.6% improvement in net yields (in constant currency), all of which was achieved on a same ship basis,” said Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein.
However, despite the solid results and upbeat outlook, Carnival (NYSE:CCL) shares have retreated into the red after challenging the post-pandemic high of $32.80. The reversal has pulled down peers in sympathy with Royal Caribbean (RCL) shares down 0.6% and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) shares lower by 1%.
For the third quarter, the world’s largest cruise line operator achieved all-time high adjusted net income of $1.9B, or $1.43 per share, led by strong close-in demand and cost management, beating the prior record set in 2019 by 10% and up 13% from the same quarter last year.
A 2.5% increase in onboard spending and 3.6% increase in passenger ticket contributed to better-than-expected record revenue of $8.2B, up 3.2% from a year ago, and the 10th consecutive quarter of record sales.
On the cost side, cruise costs per available lower berth day (ALBD) increased 4.6% from the same quarter last year, while adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD were up 5.5%, 150 basis points above June guidance.
The company also achieved record Q3 customer deposits of $7.1B versus the previous record set last August.
“Since May, booking trends have continued to strengthen with higher booking volumes than last year and far outpacing capacity growth,” Weinstein said, adding that nearly half of 2026 is already booked at historically high prices for both North American and European itineraries.
For the full fiscal year, Carnival (NYSE:CCL) expects adjusted net income to increase ~55%, $235M above its guidance in June, or approximately $2.14 per share. This is up from initial forecast of $1.97 per share and $0.12 better than expected. Net yields are expected to be up ~5.3%, an increase of 30 basis points from the company’s earlier guidance.
For Q4, the company expects net yields to increase ~4.3% and adjusted net income up over 60% versus the year ago quarter to ~$0.23 per share, 2 cents better than expected.