Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Issues Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.830-3.930 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.090. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 17.100-17.500 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $265.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $223.00 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $279.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.81.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last quarter. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $99,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $66,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.