Carnival sets records and beats expectations – the stock is up

British-American cruise line company, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL), reported fourth quarter and full year 2023 earnings results on Wednesday.

Carnival reported revenue of $5.397 billion Q4 (a new quarterly record) vs. $5.295 billion expected.

The company reported loss per share of -$0.07, which was less than -$0.126 loss per share expected.

Full year revenue reached $21.6 billion – a new all-time record high.

Company overview

• Founded: 1972 (as Carnival Cruise Line, now a subsidiary), 1993 (as Carnival Corporation), 2003 (as Carnival Corporation & plc)
• Headquarters: Miami, Florida, United States (Operations: Doral, Florida) and Southampton, United Kingdom
• Number of employees: 150,000 (2022)
• Industry: Hospitality, tourism
• Key people: Josh Weinstein (CEO)

CEO commentary

“We ended the year on a high note with another record-breaking quarter that exceeded expectations and achieved positive full year adjusted net income. In fact, we consistently outperformed in all four quarters of the year, buoyed by a strengthening demand environment across all our brands,” Josh Weinstein, CEO of the company commented on the solid results in a press release.

“Thanks to a strong second half of 2023, we are already tracking ahead of our plan to achieve SEA Change, our three-year financial targets calling for the highest adjusted ROIC and adjusted EBITDA per ALBD in nearly two decades. Based on our 2024 guidance, we expect to deliver another big step forward, positioning us more than halfway toward realizing all our 2026 SEA Change targets. With nearly two-thirds of 2024 on the books already, we are well positioned to obtain another year of record revenues and adjusted EBITDA,” Weinstein added.

Stock reaction

The stock rose by over 5% on Thursday, reaching its highest level since 10/7/23 at $19.09 a share.

Stock performance

• 1 month: +32%
• 3 months: +32.18%
• Year-to-date: +136.97%
• 1 year: +142.39%

Carnival stock price targets

• Citigroup: $23
• Truist Financial: $15
• UBS Group: $20
• Morgan Stanley: $11
• Barclays: $21
• Argus: $21
• JP Morgan: $18
• Deutsche Bank: $15
• Bank of America: $20
• Wells Fargo: $9
• Credit Suisse: $18

Carnival Corporation is the 743rd largest company in the world with a market cap of $25.02 billion.

You can trade Carnival Corporation and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD.

GO Markets now offers pre-market and after-market trading on popular US Share CFDs.

Trade the pre-market session: 4:00am to 9:30am, normal session, and after-market session: 4:00pm to 8:00pm, Eastern Standard Time.

Why trade during extended hours?

• Volatility never sleeps. Trade over earnings releases as they happen outside of main trading hours
• Reduce your risk and hedge your existing positions ahead of a new trading day
• Extended trading hours on popular US stocks means extended opportunities

Sources: Carnival Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap