Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 17.100-17.500 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 17.270. The company issued revenue guidance of $19.7 billion-$19.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.7 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 3.830-3.930 EPS.
Analyst Ratings Changes
RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $321.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.89.
Check Out Our Latest Report on RCL
Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance
Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $253.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.93. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $280.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.35 earnings per share for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises
In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises
Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat — Adjusted EPS came in at $3.60 versus analyst consensus ~$3.20, driven by stronger revenue mix, lower costs and better JV performance; operating margin and ROE were strong. This supports near‑term profitability and validates pricing/ demand strength. PR Newswire: Q1 Results
- Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — management returned about $1.1 billion in Q1 via $836 million of buybacks and $270 million of dividends, supporting EPS and signaling confidence in cash generation. Yahoo Finance: Shareholder Returns
- Neutral Sentiment: Revenue roughly in line — Q1 revenue was $4.45 billion versus ~$4.46 billion consensus (a modest miss), so momentum looks intact but not materially above expectations. Press Release / Quartr
- Neutral Sentiment: FY revenue guidance largely unchanged — the company reiterated revenue guidance near $19.7B, roughly in line with street expectations, so top‑line outlook is stable. PR Newswire: Guidance
- Negative Sentiment: Q2 and near‑term EPS guidance cut — management set Q2 EPS at $3.83–3.93 versus consensus ~4.09, a notable shortfall that directly pressures near‑term earnings expectations. Reuters: Guidance / Forecast Cut
- Negative Sentiment: Higher fuel costs and trimmed annual profit outlook — management warned of rising fuel expenses and trimmed its annual profit outlook, which introduces margin pressure and is the primary driver of the stock weakness today. Reuters: Fuel Costs & Forecast
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,288 shares of the company's stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,182 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company's stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL, operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.
Royal Caribbean's ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.
Further Reading
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