Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.180-3.280 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.940. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 17.700-18.100 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $370.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $324.87 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.94.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑2026 and Q1‑2026 EPS guidance above Street forecasts (FY guidance $17.70–$18.10; Q1 guidance $3.18–$3.28), signaling confidence in demand and pricing power. ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP REPORTS 2025 RESULTS, ISSUES 2026 GUIDANCE
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited record Wave booking season and strong onboard spend that helped produce robust 2026 revenue and profit outlooks — the primary catalyst behind recent trading strength. Royal Caribbean raises annual profit forecast on strong demand; shares jump
• Positive Sentiment: Early results from the new private destination, Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, are reportedly high‑margin and accelerating profitability expectations — a potential long‑term revenue/profit enhancer. RCL Stock’s Beach Club Secret Changes Everything
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results showed meaningful year‑over‑year improvement (EPS $2.80) but revenue slightly missed consensus; the print met EPS estimates while guidance carried the positive headline. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company is expanding its vacation portfolio (Discovery Class orders) and adding 10 river cruise ships via Celebrity River Cruises — growth investments that support future revenue diversification. Discovery Class announcement Celebrity River Cruises expansion
• Negative Sentiment: After the big rally on guidance, some intraday selling appears to be profit‑taking; the recent surge may leave the stock vulnerable to short‑term pullbacks. MarketWatch: stock surges
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet/liquidity metrics remain stretched relative to cash runway (high debt-to-equity and low quick/current ratios), which increases sensitivity to higher interest rates or weaker demand. Zacks coverage

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.9% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 84.4% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.4% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 265,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,873,000 after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.0% in the third quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.