Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.170-0.170 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.180. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Carnival also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.480-2.48 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CCL shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carnival in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Carnival in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Carnival in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Carnival from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Carnival from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Carnival Stock Performance

CCL traded up $2.59 on Friday, reaching $30.93. The company had a trading volume of 15,846,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,768,170. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.53. Carnival has a 1 year low of $15.07 and a 1 year high of $32.80. 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 (NYSE:CCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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, research analysts forecast that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCL. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Carnival by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,459,000 after buying an additional 1,845,850 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in Carnival by 6.4% in the 2nd 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Carnival by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,336,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,639,000 after acquiring an additional 221,223 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Carnival by 99.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,159,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,066,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,173,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,646,000 after purchasing an additional 678,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

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.