Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40, FiscalAI reports. 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 the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Down 2.5%

NYSE RCL opened at $259.00 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $279.53 and its 200 day moving average is $285.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $223.00 and a 1 year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $296.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday. Sixteen 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.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently 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.