Carnival Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, FY25 View Raised, Stock Up

Carnival Corporation & plc CCL reported impressive third-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended Aug. 31, 2025) results, with adjusted earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year. This upside was primarily driven by sustained demand strength and robust onboard revenues. Following the results, the stock inched up 2.2% in the pre-market trading session today.

Furthermore, Carnival raised its full-year fiscal 2025 adjusted net income guidance for the third consecutive quarter, supported by stronger net yields along with effective cost and balance sheet management.

Moving ahead, the company aims to continue focusing on its strategy to deliver same-ship, high-margin revenue growth amid a favorable booking, to position for robust revenue visibility and profitability in fiscal 2026 and beyond.

CCL’s Q3 Earnings & Revenues

In the quarter under review, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.43, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32 by 8.3%. In the year-ago quarter, CCL posted an adjusted EPS of $1.27.

Revenues in the quarter totaled $8.15 billion, beating the consensus mark of $8.07 billion by 1%. The metric also increased 3.3% year over year.

Carnival Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Carnival Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Carnival Corporation Quote

During the quarter, passenger ticket revenues amounted to $5.43 billion, up from $5.24 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for passenger ticket revenues was pegged at $5.25 billion.

Onboard and other revenues increased to $2.72 billion from $2.66 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for Onboard and other revenues was pegged at $2.72 billion.

Carnival’s Financials

Adjusted net income in the quarter amounted to $1.98 billion, up 13.2% year over year from $1.75 billion. The uptick was attributable to strong close-in demand and effective cost management.

Adjusted EBITDA totaled $3 billion, up from $2.82 billion reported in the prior-year quarter.

CCL’s Balance Sheet

As of Aug. 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $1.76 billion compared with $1.21 billion as of Nov. 30, 2024. Carnival ended the quarter with liquidity of $6.26 billion. Total debt (current and long-term) as of Aug. 31, 2025, was $26.5 billion compared with $27.48 billion as of Nov. 30, 2024.

Bookings Update of Carnival

Carnival has continued to see strong momentum in bookings since May, with volumes higher than last year and well ahead of capacity growth. This performance highlights the effectiveness of the company’s demand generation efforts and the strength of its guest experiences, which are fueling excess demand and sustaining pricing power.

Looking ahead, nearly half of fiscal 2026 is already booked, matching the record levels of the same time last year, but now at historical high prices in constant currency across both North America and Europe. The outlook for fiscal 2027 is also encouraging, with the year already achieving record booking volumes during the third quarter, positioning Carnival well for long-term growth.

Total customer deposits as of Aug. 31, 2025, were $6.69 billion compared with $8.08 billion reported in the preceding quarter.

CCL Unveils Q4 View & Raises Fiscal 2025 Outlook

For fourth-quarter fiscal 2025, Carnival expects adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $1.34 billion. It expects adjusted net income to be about $300 million. The company expects adjusted EPS to be nearly 23 cents.

For fiscal 2025, the company now anticipates adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $7.05 billion (up from the previous expectation of about $6.9 billion), indicating more than 15% growth year over year. Adjusted net income is now anticipated to be about $2.925 billion, up from the previously expected value of $2.69 billion. CCL now expects adjusted EPS to be approximately $2.14, up from $1.97 expected earlier.

CCL’s Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Carnival Corporation currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Here are some other top-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector.

Stride, Inc. LRN currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 98.7%, on average. The stock has gained 42.8% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stride’s fiscal 2026 sales and EPS implies growth of 10.7% and 8.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Hasbro, Inc. HAS currently has a Zacks Rank of 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.8%, on average. The stock has gained 35.2% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hasbro’s 2025 sales and EPS implies growth of 6.7% and 21.7%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. LOPE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4%, on average. The stock has moved up 32.5% in the year-to-date period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Grand Canyon Education’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 6.9% and 12.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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