Royal Caribbean (RCL) shares were launched higher in Thursday’s premarket trading as an “outstanding” 2025 is expected to spill into 2026 as the company set its profit guidance comfortably above Wall Street’s expectations.
“WAVE is off to a great start,” said Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty, referring to industry-wide promotions that run from January to March, adding that he expects “another strong year of financial performance with both revenue and earnings growing double digits, expecting to reach our Perfecta goals by 2027.”
To drive the company’s Perfecta Program—a three-year financial initiative to achieve an EPS CAGR of 20% and high-teen ROIC—Royal Caribbean (RCL) has made investments in vacation experiences, new ships, the expansion of its Celebrity river cruises, and five new destinations in 2028.
These efforts, coupled with the strong financial performance in the fourth quarter, led the company to set ambitious goals for 2026, including adjusted earnings in a range of $17.70 to $18.10 per share, translating to a CAGR of 23% and above the consensus estimate of $17.66 per share.
The company also anticipates double-digit revenue growth in 2026, driven by 6.7% higher capacity and yield growth of 2.1% to 4.1%, which includes 30 basis points of headwind from itinerary modifications in China.
For the first quarter, the company anticipates a profit of $3.18 to $3.28 per share versus estimates of $2.91 per share.
For the reported quarter, the cruise operator earned an adjusted profit of $2.80 per share, up 72% from a year ago and in-line with expectations. Adjusted EBITDA increased 34% to $1.48B, driving the adjusted EBITDA margin up 560 basis points to 34.8%.
Total revenue for the final quarter of the year rose 13.3% to $4.26B, slightly below Wall Street’s lofty expectations.
Shares are currently trading nearly 7% higher.