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 guidance of 2.480-2.48 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.410. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Carnival also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.170-0.170 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CCL. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Melius Research increased their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Carnival in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of CCL stock traded up $2.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.16. The company had a trading volume of 23,714,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,793,893. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. Carnival has a 52 week low of $15.07 and a 52 week high of $32.80.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Carnival had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts predict that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCL. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carnival by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,850 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted 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 buying an additional 798,450 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Carnival by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,336,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,639,000 after buying an additional 221,223 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Carnival by 99.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after buying an additional 6,066,336 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carnival by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,173,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,646,000 after acquiring an additional 678,356 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is 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.