Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) stock rose 8.54% (As on December 19, 11:44:46 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company beats earning expectations for the fourth quarter of FY25. Carnival also proposed unifying its dual-listed company structure into a single entity, Carnival Corporation, listed solely on the New York Stock Exchange, with Carnival plc as its wholly-owned UK subsidiary. The company also plans to shift its legal incorporation from Panama to Bermuda. The company’s fourth quarter performance exceeded guidance, with net income of $422 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, up nearly 40 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $454 million, outperforming September guidance by over $150 million. Carnival cited strong close-in demand and effective cost management as key drivers of its performance. Net yields in constant currency were 5.4 percent higher than the previous year’s fourth quarter. The company maintains a strong gross profit margin of 55.02% and has achieved a 7.15% revenue growth over the last twelve months.
Moreover, the company also brought unit costs in over a point better than initial guidance at a 2.6% increase for the year, with successful cost management mitigating inflation, higher dry dock expenses, and the inclusion of costs for our amazing new destination, Celebration Key, Grand Bahama. This combination pushed operating margins and EBITDA margins up by over 250 basis points year over year, leading to the highest operating income per ALBD in almost 20 years and EBITDA per ALBD reaching an all-time high.
CCL in the fourth quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $0.34, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $0.25, according to the Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of percent to $6.33 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $6.36 billion.
Additionally, the company announced an initial quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a record date of February 13, 2026, and a payment date of February 27, 2026.
Looking ahead, Carnival projects a normalized yield growth of 3% in 2026. For 2026, Carnival expects adjusted net income to increase approximately 12 percent to $3.5 billion on less than one percent capacity growth. The company plans to invest in AI and marketing technologies to enhance customer engagement. Carnival’s strategic focus on expanding its Caribbean capacity and destination development is expected to drive future growth.