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

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 17.700-18.100 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 17.690. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 3.180-3.280 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $370.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $324.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.94. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $282.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.32.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 presently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Royal Caribbean Cruises News

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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.