Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) AI Stock Analysis

Carnival Corporation & plc provides leisure travel services worldwide with a fleet of over 90 ships visiting approximately 700 ports across the globe. The company operates prominent brands such as Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), and P&O Cruises (Australia). In addition to ocean cruising, it owns and operates hospitality assets that include hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motorcoaches. Carnival sells its travel packages through travel agents, tour operators, vacation planners, and online channels across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and other international markets.

Carnival's revenue rose from $1.91B in FY2021 to $26.62B in FY2025, reflecting a 5-year revenue CAGR of 36.6%. After recording net losses of -$9.50B in FY2021 and -$6.09B in FY2022, profitability recovered with net income reaching $1.92B in FY2024 and $2.76B in FY2025. Operating margin expanded from -371.5% in FY2021 to 16.8% in FY2025, with gross margin ending FY2025 at 29.6%. Over the trailing twelve months, revenue totaled $27.59B with an operating margin of 26.4% and diluted EPS of $2.27. In the latest quarter ending August 31, 2026, quarterly revenue grew 3.5% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings grew 5.0%.

As of August 31, 2026, Carnival held $1.22B in cash and short-term investments alongside total debt of $25.16B, resulting in net debt of $23.94B. Shareholders' equity stood at $14.19B against total assets of $50.97B, giving a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company's current ratio was 0.27. For FY2025, operating cash flow was $6.22B, capital expenditures were $3.61B, and free cash flow reached $2.61B. Over the past five years, the total share count increased by 20.5%.

At a last close of $25.90 on October 16, 2026, Carnival traded at a trailing P/E of 11.4x and a forward P/E of 8.4x. Both multiples sit below the median of its S&P 500 Consumer Cyclical peers, which recorded a trailing P/E of 20.1x and forward P/E of 15.7x. The company's EV/EBITDA of 7.5x is also lower than the peer median of 13.8x, while its PEG ratio is 0.76. Over the prior year, CCL stock fell 6.7%, trailing the S&P 500 index return of 16.8%.

Carnival pays an annual forward dividend of $0.45 per share on a quarterly schedule, representing a dividend yield of 1.74%. The dividend payout ratio stands at 18.9%. The company's last ex-dividend date occurred on August 7, 2026.

Wall Street coverage on Carnival includes 18 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, and 5 Hold ratings, with zero Sell or Strong Sell ratings. The mean price target is $33.89, which is 30.9% above the last closing price of $25.90. For the fiscal year ending November 30, 2026, analysts estimate EPS of $2.26 on revenue of $27.74B. Looking to next fiscal year, 28 analysts project EPS of $2.57 on revenue of $28.60B. Carnival has beaten consensus EPS expectations in each of the last 4 quarters.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

Related: CCL income statement, CCL balance sheet, CCL key metrics, CCL analyst forecast, CCL chart. See the CCL stock overview for the latest quote and news.