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

01 May 2026, 00:02 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. 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 Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $264.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day moving average of $285.81. The company has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.93. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12 month low of $217.42 and a 12 month high of $366.50. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $383.00 to $349.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $352.89.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on RCL

Key Royal Caribbean Cruises News

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.