Carnival Corporation Ltd. CCL reported better-than-expected third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Aug. 31) results, with both adjusted earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues increased on a year-over-year basis, while adjusted earnings remained flat.
Carnival delivered all-time-high revenues and net yields in constant currency, supported by continued demand strength and cost discipline. Net yields increased 2.4% year over year in constant currency, more than one percentage point better than the June guidance. Adjusted EBITDA also exceeded the company's June guidance by $110 million despite higher fuel costs.
CCL’s Q3 Earnings & Revenues
For the quarter under review, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.43, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.36 by 5.1%.
Carnival Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Carnival Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Carnival Corporation Quote
Revenues in the quarter totaled $8.44 billion, beating the consensus mark of $8.36 billion by 0.9%. The metric increased 3.5% year over year from $8.15 billion.
During the quarter, passenger ticket revenues amounted to $5.53 billion, up 1.8% from $5.43 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for passenger ticket revenues was pegged at $5.6 billion.
Onboard and other revenues increased 6.7% to $2.91 billion from $2.72 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for Onboard and other revenues was pegged at $2.79 billion.
Carnival’s Q3 Operating Highlights
Gross margin totaled $3.05 billion, almost flat compared with prior-year quarter levels. Gross margin yields declined 1.3% year over year, primarily due to higher fuel prices.
Net yields reached an all-time high and increased 2.4% year over year in constant currency. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $2.99 billion, unchanged from the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $2.88 billion.
Cruise and tour operating expenses totaled $4.63 billion, up 5.5% from $4.39 billion in the year-ago quarter. Fuel expense increased to $615 million from $451 million. Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per available lower berth day increased 1.8% in constant currency, one percentage point better than the June guidance.
CCL’s Q3 Cruise Metrics
Passenger cruise days totaled 27.9 million compared with 27.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Available lower berth days increased to 24.9 million from 24.6 million.
Occupancy was 111.8% compared with 111.7% in the year-ago quarter. Carnival carried 3.9 million passengers, up from 3.8 million a year earlier.
Fuel consumption per thousand available lower berth days improved 3.8% year over year to 26.9 metric tons from 28 metric tons. Fuel cost per metric ton consumed, excluding emission allowances, increased to $826 from $607.
Carnival’s Booking Update
The company delivered another strong booking performance, with volumes meaningfully ahead of the prior year and far outpacing capacity growth. For full-year fiscal 2027, both booked occupancy and pricing are at record levels.
Customer deposits reached a fiscal third-quarter record of $7.64 billion, surpassing the prior-year record by approximately $0.5 billion. Carnival also stated that 2028 bookings started at higher occupancy and pricing levels than the prior year.
CCL’s Balance Sheet
As of Aug. 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $1.22 billion compared with $1.93 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025. Total debt, including current and long-term debt, declined to $23.91 billion from $26.64 billion over the same period.
Cash from operations totaled $1.41 billion in the quarter compared with $1.38 billion in the prior-year quarter. Capital expenditures amounted to $698 million compared with $648 million a year ago.
Carnival completed approximately $1.2 billion of share repurchases year to date. The company distributed $204 million in dividends during the third quarter, bringing year-to-date dividend payments to $618 million.
Carnival’s Q4 & FY26 Outlook
For fourth-quarter fiscal 2026, the company expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.30 billion. Adjusted net income is projected at nearly $274 million, while adjusted EPS is expected to be approximately 20 cents.
The company expects fiscal 2026 net yields to increase approximately 2.3% year over year in constant currency, 0.5 percentage points better than the June guidance. Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per available lower berth day are expected to increase approximately 2.2% in constant currency. For the fiscal fourth quarter, net yields are projected to increase approximately 1.7% in constant currency.
For fiscal 2026, CCL expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately $7.14 billion. Adjusted net income is projected to be nearly $3.08 billion, while adjusted EPS is anticipated to be approximately $2.24.
CCL’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Carnival has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Consumer-Discretionary sector are Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. LTH, The Marcus Corporation MCS and AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. AMC.
Life Time Group presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Life Time Group delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.50%, on average. The stock has jumped 48.9% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LTH’s 2026 sales and EPS implies growth of 12.4% and 22.9%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.
Marcus currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings miss of 34.2%, on average. The stock has surged 85% in the year-to-date period.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Marcus’ 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 8.3% and 652.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
AMC Entertainment presently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 321.7%, on average. The stock has rallied 110.9% in the year-to-date period.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMC Entertainment’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 14.6% and 77.1%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.
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