Carnival Corporation’s stock took a hit on Monday, despite reporting impressive third-quarter results. The company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.27, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.16. Revenue for the quarter reached $7.90 billion, a 15.2% year-over-year increase, beating estimates of $7.83 billion.
The company’s operating income saw a significant boost, rising 34% year-over-year to $2.2 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also increased by 25% to $2.8 billion.
Carnival’s strong performance was driven by robust booking volumes for 2025 sailings, with the company ending the quarter with $4.5 billion in liquidity. CEO Josh Weinstein attributed the success to “high-margin, same-ship yield growth,” which led to a 26% improvement in unit operating income, the highest level in 15 years.
Looking ahead, Carnival expects net yields to increase by approximately 5.0% in the fourth quarter, with adjusted EPS projected to be $0.05, below estimates. However, the company anticipates adjusted EBITDA to rise 20% year-over-year to $1.14 billion.
For 2024, Carnival forecasts net yields to increase by 10.40% year-over-year, with adjusted EPS expected to reach $1.33, above consensus estimates. The company also projects adjusted EBITDA to rise 40% year-over-year to $6.0 billion.
Despite the strong results, Carnival’s stock fell 2.08% to $18.16 on Monday. However, the company’s stock has still seen a significant increase of over 32% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to Carnival through the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF and iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF.
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