Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.25% and a net margin of 24.36%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 17.100-17.500 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Royal Caribbean Cruises' conference call:

• Reported Q1 results beat expectations — revenue grew 11% year‑over‑year and Adjusted EPS was $3.60 (about $0.37 above guidance) amid a record wave season delivering ~2.5 million vacations.
• Company expects another year of double‑digit revenue and earnings growth with full‑year adjusted EPS guidance of $17.10–$17.50, though the outlook includes a meaningful fuel drag (roughly $0.62 per share) and lower JV contributions.
• Geopolitical disruption in the Middle East temporarily affected Mediterranean itineraries (two ships paused) and West Coast Mexico demand, and contributed to higher fuel costs that moderated near‑term booking trends.
• Demand and guest engagement remain strong — record pricing and booking volumes, onboard spending above prior years, rising repeat bookings, and higher digital/app penetration supported by loyalty initiatives and the new Royal ONE card.
• Balance sheet and capital allocation remain robust with $6.9 billion liquidity, leverage below 3x, a $2.5 billion bond issue to refinance maturities, $836 million of share repurchases this quarter and $1 billion remaining authorization.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $265.63 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a twelve month low of $223.00 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25,747.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,202,161 shares of the company's stock worth $335,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,510 shares during the period. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $80,848,000. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,992,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,725.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 215,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,648,000 after buying an additional 209,616 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,046,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,775,000 after buying an additional 159,690 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and strong demand: RCL reported adjusted EPS that beat consensus (adjusted EPS ~$3.60) and revenue roughly in line, with management saying consumer demand remains healthy — a primary driver for the stock pop. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns: Management returned roughly $1.1 billion to shareholders in Q1 via $836M of share repurchases and dividends, which supports near‑term EPS and investor sentiment. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings resilience: Mediterranean itineraries are seeing a bounce in bookings after regional disruptions, helping revenue outlook for peak seasons. TravelPulse
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target revision: Citigroup lowered its RCL price target from $377 to $348 but kept a "buy" rating — still implying upside from current levels, though the trimmed PT reflects near‑term risk. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation re-checks: Several market write-ups are revisiting RCL after the post‑earnings pullback, weighing the long‑term lifestyle growth thesis versus short‑term cost pressure. Yahoo Finance Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Higher fuel costs & guidance trim: Management updated FY 2026 guidance to $17.10–$17.50 (and Q2 to $3.83–$3.93), citing rising fuel costs tied to Middle East tensions — the guidance revision is a headwind to margins and investor expectations. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term itinerary & cost risk: Geopolitical disruption has forced itinerary changes and raised fuel expense — risks that could pressure margins if costs remain elevated. Quartz
• Neutral Sentiment: Noise and non‑related tickers: Some headlines reference other "RCL" tickers (e.g., RCL Foods on JSE) — ignore those when evaluating Royal Caribbean Group NYSE: RCL. Yahoo - RCL Foods

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $296.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.