We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Cruise liners took a severe beating during the outburst of the coronavirus that led to travel curbs. However, things have begun to look hunky-dory for cruise lines post-pandemic as travel restrictions were lifted. The cruise liners took advantage of the pent-up demand and booked profits in recent times.
Consumers have started to open up their wallets for leisure and recreational activities, which led to record bookings for cruise liners. Consumers are confident about their well-being as steady economic growth squashed concerns about an impending recession, while jobs were added to the economy at a steady clip.
The consumer confidence index came in at 114.8 in January from December’s revised reading of 108.0, and it also hit a two-year high, per the Conference Board. A separate measure that shows how confident consumers are about the economy at the moment rose to its strongest level since the onset of the pandemic. At the same time, consumers remain optimistic that the economy is well-poised to improve soon, which no doubt bodes well for discretionary players like cruise liners.
Thus, with the current macroeconomic scenario in favor of cruise liners, investors should certainly place their bets on two top-notch cruise operators, such as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) and Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL - Free Report) . Both stocks, as of now, flaunt a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Royal Caribbean’s shares recently soared toward pre-pandemic levels after it posted upbeat fourth-quarter earnings results and projected a positive outlook for the current year. The cruise operator’s net income for the reported quarter came in at $278 million. The reading is in sharp contrast to a loss of $500 million reported in the same period a year ago.
Revenues came in at a healthy $3.33 billion in the fourth quarter, up 28% from year-ago levels, and were mostly led by a considerable increase in passenger tickets. The cruise operator recently witnessed record booking in terms of rate and volume to begin the Wave season. This is when cruise promotions heighten, particularly in the first quarter of a year.
Looking forward, the cruise operator expects its net income to improve as consumers continue to spend on experiences and inflationary pressures cool down. For the first quarter, the company’s management sees adjusted earnings per share to come in at $1.10 to $1.20, which will be in contrast to a loss of 23 cents a share reported last year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s current-year earnings has moved up 0.6% over the past 60 days. Royal Caribbean’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next year are a remarkable 188.4% and 38%, respectively. The company’s projected revenue growth rates for the current and next years are 57.7% and 14.1%, respectively.
Similarly, Carnival is seeing record travel bookings across the board for the first half of the year as consumers are splurging on travel with the worst of the pandemic being over. Carnival has predicted an adjusted EBITDA of around $5.6 billion for 2024, which is more than 30% compared to last year.
In the fourth quarter, Carnival posted revenues of $5.4 billion, up 41% from the same period a year ago. Nonetheless, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCL’s current-year earnings has moved up 9.9% over the past 60 days. Carnival’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next quarters are a solid 67.3% and 109.7%, respectively. The company’s estimated revenue growth rates for the current and next years are 13.7% and 4.7%, respectively.
Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival’s shares have soared immensely over the past year and have given stiff competition to magnificent tech players like NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , which are currently climbing higher on AI optimism. Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival have gained 83.3% and 40.4%, respectively, in the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Unique Zacks Analysis of Your Chosen Ticker
Pick one free report - opportunity may be withdrawn at any time
Image: Bigstock
2 Top Cruise Stocks Worth a Buy in February
Cruise liners took a severe beating during the outburst of the coronavirus that led to travel curbs. However, things have begun to look hunky-dory for cruise lines post-pandemic as travel restrictions were lifted. The cruise liners took advantage of the pent-up demand and booked profits in recent times.
Consumers have started to open up their wallets for leisure and recreational activities, which led to record bookings for cruise liners. Consumers are confident about their well-being as steady economic growth squashed concerns about an impending recession, while jobs were added to the economy at a steady clip.
The consumer confidence index came in at 114.8 in January from December’s revised reading of 108.0, and it also hit a two-year high, per the Conference Board. A separate measure that shows how confident consumers are about the economy at the moment rose to its strongest level since the onset of the pandemic. At the same time, consumers remain optimistic that the economy is well-poised to improve soon, which no doubt bodes well for discretionary players like cruise liners.
Thus, with the current macroeconomic scenario in favor of cruise liners, investors should certainly place their bets on two top-notch cruise operators, such as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) and Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL - Free Report) . Both stocks, as of now, flaunt a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Royal Caribbean’s shares recently soared toward pre-pandemic levels after it posted upbeat fourth-quarter earnings results and projected a positive outlook for the current year. The cruise operator’s net income for the reported quarter came in at $278 million. The reading is in sharp contrast to a loss of $500 million reported in the same period a year ago.
Revenues came in at a healthy $3.33 billion in the fourth quarter, up 28% from year-ago levels, and were mostly led by a considerable increase in passenger tickets. The cruise operator recently witnessed record booking in terms of rate and volume to begin the Wave season. This is when cruise promotions heighten, particularly in the first quarter of a year.
Looking forward, the cruise operator expects its net income to improve as consumers continue to spend on experiences and inflationary pressures cool down. For the first quarter, the company’s management sees adjusted earnings per share to come in at $1.10 to $1.20, which will be in contrast to a loss of 23 cents a share reported last year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s current-year earnings has moved up 0.6% over the past 60 days. Royal Caribbean’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next year are a remarkable 188.4% and 38%, respectively. The company’s projected revenue growth rates for the current and next years are 57.7% and 14.1%, respectively.
Similarly, Carnival is seeing record travel bookings across the board for the first half of the year as consumers are splurging on travel with the worst of the pandemic being over. Carnival has predicted an adjusted EBITDA of around $5.6 billion for 2024, which is more than 30% compared to last year.
In the fourth quarter, Carnival posted revenues of $5.4 billion, up 41% from the same period a year ago. Nonetheless, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCL’s current-year earnings has moved up 9.9% over the past 60 days. Carnival’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next quarters are a solid 67.3% and 109.7%, respectively. The company’s estimated revenue growth rates for the current and next years are 13.7% and 4.7%, respectively.
Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival’s shares have soared immensely over the past year and have given stiff competition to magnificent tech players like NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , which are currently climbing higher on AI optimism. Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival have gained 83.3% and 40.4%, respectively, in the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research