Carnival Corporation Ltd. CCL has approximately half of fiscal 2027 already booked, with advance occupancy and pricing at record levels. Strong reservations during the fiscal third quarter reinforced this position, while customer deposits reached a third-quarter record of approximately $7.6 billion, increasing about 7% year over year. Customer deposits increased even as passenger capacity is expected to remain broadly flat over the next 12 months.
Carnival’s advance booking momentum extends beyond fiscal 2027. Demand remains broad based, including healthy reservations for peak summer European itineraries. For fiscal 2028 sailings, Carnival has booked a higher proportion of capacity at higher prices than it had for fiscal 2027 sailings at the same point last year. Reservations are also being secured further ahead of departure, consistent with the company’s focus on managing bookings to support pricing.
However, the strength in Carnival’s fiscal 2027 booked position is concentrated in the second through fourth quarters. The spring booking disruption carried into first-quarter fiscal 2027 reservations, and the company continues to expect residual effects on those sailings.
Recent booking trends nevertheless show improvement. June marked an inflection point, followed by further acceleration in July and August. First-quarter fiscal 2027 bookings rebounded meaningfully over the past three months.
Carnival’s strategy to sustain pricing momentum combines sharper commercial execution, technology that improves decision-making and investments in differentiated vacation experiences. Its European, Alaskan and Caribbean deployments also remain central to its plans for continued yield growth.
CCL’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Carnival have dropped 6.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 2.9%. In the same time frame, other industry players like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL have declined 3.5%, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH has lost 21.4%.
CCL Stock’s Three-Month Price Performance
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CCL stock is currently trading at a discount. It is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.27, well below the industry average of 15.81. Then again, other industry players, such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise, have P/E ratios of 14.20 and 10.56, respectively.
CCL’s P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carnival’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share has declined from $2.23 to $2.26 over the past 30 days.
EPS Trend of CCL Stock
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The company’s fiscal 2026 earnings are likely to increase by 0.4% year over year. Conversely, industry players like Royal Caribbean are likely to witness growth of 13.8% year over year in 2026 earnings. NCLH is likely to project a fall of 26.1% year over year in 2026 earnings.
CCL stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Carnival Corporation (CCL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).