MIAMI, Fla. — Carnival Corp. reported a strong start to its year and updated its full-year outlook as fuel costs rose, while also authorizing an initial share repurchase program. PR Newswire, Cruise Industry News, Baird Maritime, MarineLink, gCaptain, and MarketScreener detailed the results and the guidance update. Each of the bullet points immediately below have been confirmed by at least four of the six respected sources we reported on this story.
Core Facts
- Carnival said higher fuel costs were the main driver of its updated full-year profit outlook.
- The company lowered its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance from its prior forecast.
- Carnival said it authorized an initial share repurchase program.
- Carnival said booking momentum for the year ahead remains strong, with bookings up double digits.
- Carnival said operational gains from higher yields and lower non-fuel costs are expected to offset part of the fuel-cost headwind.
Additional Details Reported
Several outlets said the company now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of about $2.21, down from its prior expectation of up to $2.48, citing higher fuel costs as the key pressure on its margins.
Carnival also said it expects more than $500 million of impact from recent fuel price changes, partially offset by nearly $150 million in operational improvements from higher yields and lower non-fuel costs.
The company’s guidance assumptions referenced purchased fuel prices from March and early April and used Brent crude assumptions of about $90 per barrel for the remainder of April and the following weeks, $85 in the third quarter, and $80 in the fourth quarter.
In addition to the earnings outlook change, Carnival announced an initial $2.5 billion share buyback authorization and said demand remains resilient as it books future sailings at historically high prices in constant currency.
Multiple reports noted that Carnival is the only major U.S. cruise operator that typically does not hedge fuel, which can leave results more exposed when oil prices rise.
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Image Attribution ▾
Visual selection: ILLUSTRATION. Hedra Prompt: Editorial illustration, wide 16:9: a sleek modern cruise ship on open ocean beside a subtle upward line graph and an oil barrel motif, symbolizing rising fuel costs affecting a cruise company’s earnings outlook. Muted professional colors, watercolor-and-ink style, soft lighting, no text, no logos, no identifiable people. (Artificial Intelligence generated image / EOBS.biz)