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Royal Caribbean (RCL) Q3 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates

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For the quarter ended September 2026, Royal Caribbean (RCL - Free Report) reported revenue of $5.59 billion, up 8.8% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $6.57, compared to $5.75 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.14% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.58 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $6.38, the EPS surprise was +2.98%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Royal Caribbean performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
  • APCD (Available passenger cruise days): 14,844.69 Days versus the five-analyst average estimate of 14,883.59 Days.
  • Net Yields: $304.41 compared to the $257.58 average estimate based on four analysts.
  • Occupancy Rate: 112.4% compared to the 111.8% average estimate based on four analysts.
  • Passenger Cruise Days: 16,692.39 Days versus 16,640.17 Days estimated by four analysts on average.
  • Net Cruise Costs Excluding Fuel per APCD: $121.38 versus $122.05 estimated by three analysts on average.
  • Net Cruise Costs per APCD: $144.79 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $150.59.
  • Passengers Carried: 2.68 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of 2.84 million.
  • Revenues- Onboard and other: $1.71 billion versus $1.71 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +13.6% change.
  • Revenues- Passenger ticket: $3.89 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $3.89 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +6.8%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Royal Caribbean here>>>

Shares of Royal Caribbean have returned +15.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -0.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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