Carnival Cruise Q1 Profit Soars On Higher Ticker Prices And Strong Occupancy

Carnival Corp CCL shares are trading lower on Friday following the release of its first-quarter FY25 earnings results.

The company reported first-quarter sales growth of 7.5% year-on-year to $5.81 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $5.75 billion.

Passenger ticket sales increased 5.9% to $3.8 billion. Adjusted EPS of 13 cents beat the consensus estimate of 2 cents.

Average lower berth day totaled 23.6 million. Occupancy percentage for the quarter was 103% in the quarter.

Net yields (in constant currency) were 7.3% higher than 2024. Cruise costs per ALBD decreased 0.3%.

The company registered an operating income of $543 million, a 96.7% surge YoY. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter stood at $1.2 billion, up 38% YoY.

Total customer deposits reached $7.3 billion, reflecting continued growth in ticket prices and pre-cruise onboard sales. Carnival held $833 million in cash and equivalents as of February 28, 2025.

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The operating cash flow for the quarter was $925 million. The company reduced its debt balance by another $0.5 billion, ending the quarter with $27.0 billion of total debt.

“Our first quarter was truly characterized by outperformance. This was across the board and led by incredibly strong demand throughout our portfolio including exceptional close-in demand that exceeded expectations for both ticket prices and onboard spending,” said CEO Josh Weinstein.

“While we are not completely immune from the heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility since providing our December guidance, we are still taking up our earnings expectations for the year and we remain on track to have another stellar year across our cruise brands.”

Outlook: Carnival sees second-quarter net yield growth of 4.4% in constant currency. Adjusted EPS of $0.22 against an estimate of $0.23.

Carnival raised the FY25 net yield guidance from 4.2% to 4.7%. The cruise operator also raised the FY25 adjusted EPS outlook from $1.70 to approx. $1.83, compared to an estimate of $1.78.

Carnival is expecting to achieve both 2026 SEA Change financial targets one year in advance, with adjusted return on invested capital (ROIC) and adjusted EBITDA per available lower berth (ALBD) for 2025, reaching the highest levels in nearly two decades.

Price Action: CCL shares traded lower by 2.03% at $20.77 at last check Friday.

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Photo by Darryl Brooks via Shutterstock.