Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.480-2.48 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.410. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Carnival also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.170-0.170 EPS.

Carnival Stock Up 9.1%

CCL traded up $2.59 on Friday, hitting $30.93. The company had a trading volume of 15,846,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,768,170. Carnival has a 52-week low of $15.07 and a 52-week high of $32.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.53.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.09 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 10.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Carnival has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.230 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.140-2.140 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Carnival in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Carnival from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Carnival from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CCL. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Carnival by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,066,336 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Carnival by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,369,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845,850 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,551,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,670,000 after purchasing an additional 865,511 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in Carnival by 6.4% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 13,207,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,388,000 after acquiring an additional 798,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 114.8% in the 3rd quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 1,450,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,920,000 after acquiring an additional 775,000 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.