Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) just dropped its second-quarter earnings report, and it’s a huge beat for the company.
The cruise giant, which operates eight cruise brands, not only tripled its profit and hit record revenue numbers, but they also announced they’ve already hit their goals for 2026, a full 18 months ahead of schedule.
Just How Successful Was Q2?
Carnival’s latest financial results show a strong rebound and continued growth:
- Profit Soars: Carnival’s net income for the second quarter clocked in at $565 million. That’s an improvement of nearly $475 million compared to the same period last year, with adjusted net income more than tripling.
- Record Revenue: The cruise company pulled in $6.3 billion in revenue, setting a new Q2 record. This is up nearly $550 million from last year’s $5.78 billion, proving that passengers aren’t just booking cruises, they’re also spending once they’re on board.
- Beating Analyst Expectations: Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings per share of $0.24 and revenue around $6.21 billion. Carnival sailed past those estimates with adjusted EPS of $0.35 and revenue of $6.33 billion. The market clearly liked what it saw, with the stock seeing a significant bump in premarket trading.
Ahead of Schedule for 2026
Perhaps the most impressive news is Carnival’s “SEA Change” initiative reaching its goals far sooner than thought.
Carnival has surpassed its 2026 financial targets a full year and a half ahead of schedule. They’ve managed to boost how much money they make from each available bed on their ships by 52%, and they’ve more than doubled the return on the money they’ve invested, now over 12.5%.
These numbers are now at their highest levels in nearly two decades.
Strong Bookings and Future Outlook
The strong performance is backed by booming demand.
Customer deposits hit an all-time high of $8.5 billion, a clear indicator of strong future demand. Even bookings for 2026 are looking strong as well, matching 2025’s record levels and at historically high prices.
Carnival has also raised its full-year guidance for 2025. They now expect net yields (a key measure of profitability per passenger cruise day) to rise by approximately 5% from 2024, and adjusted net income is projected to grow by over 40% compared to last year.
While debt is still an issue from the pandemic era ($27.3 billion), they are actively managing it, refinancing nearly $7 billion of debt at better rates and improving their net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio.
Credit rating upgrades from S&P and Fitch also bring them one notch closer to investment grade.
Bottom Line
Despite recent backlash from a reward program roll out, Carnival is riding a wave of strong consumer demand and smart financial management. The recent earnings report showed that demand is as strong as ever and the company hopes to continue to capitalize on that going forward.
This is a list of all the cruise brands under Carnival Corp & plc:
- AIDA Cruises (German market)
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Costa Cruises (Italian market)
- Cunard Line (Luxury, British heritage)
- Holland America Line (Premium, traditional cruising)
- P&O Cruises (UK market focus)
- Princess Cruises
- Seabourn Cruise Line (Ultra-luxury)
(Note: P&O Cruises Australia ceased operations as a separate brand in March 2025, with its ships transferring to Carnival Cruise Line.)