Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) reported strong third-quarter results, surpassing Street expectations and raising its full-year guidance. Despite the positive results, shares dropped more than 6% intra-day today, likely due to investor hopes for even better guidance.
The cruise line operator posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.27, exceeding the Street estimate of $1.17. Revenue also reached a record high of $7.89 billion, slightly above forecasts of $7.82 billion.
Carnival’s net income for the quarter surged to $1.7 billion, marking a 60% increase from the same period last year. Operating income hit a record $2.2 billion, an improvement of $554 million compared to 2023.
Carnival raised its full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA forecast to around $6.0 billion, a more than 40% jump from 2023 and $200 million higher than its prior projection.
Looking forward, Carnival highlighted strong booking momentum for 2025, with cumulative advance bookings surpassing the previous record set in 2024. Prices in constant currency are also ahead of last year’s levels. CEO Josh Weinstein noted that with nearly half of 2025 already booked and less remaining inventory compared to the previous year, Carnival is capitalizing on strong demand to set record ticket pricing.