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

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 17.100-17.500 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 17.270. The company issued revenue guidance of $19.7 billion-$19.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.7 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 3.830-3.930 EPS.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock traded up $10.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $264.07. 5,211,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,417,451. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a twelve month low of $217.42 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $376.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $352.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at $10,695,121.06. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat on the bottom line — Adjusted EPS came in ahead of consensus ($3.60 vs ~$3.20) and revenue roughly matched estimates, signaling strong demand and better-than-expected operating performance. PR Newswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings and demand are holding up — Mediterranean itineraries have bounced back despite regional tensions, supporting forward load factors and revenue visibility for peak seasons. TravelPulse: Mediterranean Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder returns — The company returned roughly $1.1 billion in the quarter via ~$836M of buybacks and $270M of dividends, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. PR Newswire: Share Repurchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated FY and Q2 guidance — Management set FY 2026 adjusted EPS at $17.10–$17.50 and Q2 EPS at $3.83–$3.93; the FY range sits near analyst expectations but the Q2 range is below some consensus estimates. That mixed guidance is why some outlets describe the outlook as an “update” rather than a straight upgrade. PR Newswire: Guidance Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation perspective — Some analysts note the stock looks fairly priced after the move higher, so future gains may depend on execution against guidance and fuel trends. Motley Fool: Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Rising fuel costs are a clear headwind — Management and multiple outlets flagged higher fuel prices from Middle East tensions as the main near‑term earnings drag; the company trimmed its prior internal range to reflect those costs. Reuters: Fuel Costs / Forecast Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 pressure and itinerary changes — Management noted repositioning of ships away from higher‑risk areas and said fuel was the most notable near‑term financial impact, raising the risk of softer near‑term margins. Earnings Call Transcript

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,052,000 after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,474,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,785,000 after acquiring an additional 65,714 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,918,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,079,000 after acquiring an additional 47,401 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,640,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,610,000 after acquiring an additional 15,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,515,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,576,000 after acquiring an additional 16,417 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.