Carnival Raises Fiscal 2025 Earnings Outlook Following First-Quarter Beat

12:54 PM EDT, 03/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Carnival (CCL) lifted its full-year earnings outlook Friday as robust demand for ticket prices and onboard spending helped the cruise operator deliver better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.

The company now expects adjusted earnings of about $1.83 per share for fiscal 2025, up from its previous projection of around $1.70. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $1.79. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are pegged at roughly $6.7 billion, compared with the prior guidance of $6.6 billion.

"While we are not completely immune from the heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility since providing our December guidance, we are still taking up our earnings expectations for the year and we remain on track to have another stellar year across our cruise brands," Chief Executive Josh Weinstein said in a statement. "This raise incorporates our increased first-quarter yield results and reduced interest expense thanks to our recent successful refinancings."

The company's shares were up 0.3% in Friday afternoon trade. The stock is down 15% so far this year.

For the quarter through February, Carnival swung to adjusted EPS of $0.13 from a loss of $0.14 a year earlier. Wall Street was looking for non-GAAP EPS of $0.02. Revenue advanced to $5.81 billion from $5.41 billion, topping the Street's $5.75 billion view, amid gains in passenger ticket and onboard and other sales.

Occupancy grew to 103% from 102% in the prior-year quarter. Customer deposits reached a "first-quarter record" of $7.3 billion, buoyed by continued growth in ticket prices and pre-cruise onboard sales, according to Carnival.

"With the vast majority of 2025 booked, we continue to drive strong pricing for the remainder of the year in both North America and Europe, while also building demand for future years," Weinstein said. "Booking volumes for 2026 sailings and beyond reached an all-time high and at higher prices (in constant currency)."

For the ongoing quarter, the company anticipates adjusted EPS of about $0.22, just shy of the Street's estimate of $0.23. Adjusted EBITDA is seen at roughly $1.32 billion.

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