MW Cruise stocks drop, as there's more the just the Iran conflict to worry about

By Tomi Kilgore

Norwegian's sales miss and downbeat booking and profit outlooks spark concern about demand for cruises

Cruise stocks fall, amid worries about the Iran conflict and Norwegian's disappointing earnings report and outlook.

Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings were hit hard in early Monday trading, as investors worry the cruise and travel industries will be hurt by the Iran conflict.

But there's more to it than that. For an industry that has touted strong demand from consumers seeking experiences over things - as well as a strong appeal to cost-conscious consumers, given cruises are cheaper than land-based vacations - Norwegian's $(NCLH)$ fourth-quarter results may spark some concern that the good times may have peaked.

The cruise operator missed sales expectations for the latest quarter and provided a downbeat outlook for both profit and bookings. With oil prices surging due to the Iran conflict, it could even be worse than the outlook, which included only a slight increase in fuel costs.

Crude oil futures spiked 8.1% in recent trading, amid fears that the Iran conflict will lead to supply disruptions.

Norwegian's stock dropped 7.6% in premarket trading, enough to make it the S&P 500 index's SPX second-worst performer ahead of the open. Among Norwegian's peers, shares of Carnival $(CCL)$ fell 7.5% to make it the third-biggest S&P 500 decliner and Royal Caribbean's stock $(RCL)$ slid 6.7% to be the fourth-worst performer.

For the fourth quarter, Norwegian reported total revenue that rose 6.4% from a year ago to $2.24 billion, but that was below the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $2.34 billion, with misses in both passenger ticket revenue and onboard spending.

The company said it was "pressured" to start the year, during the so-called wave booking season - when cruise promotions peak during the first quarter - as it was "slightly below the optimal booking range." In the first quarter, it had to absorb a "material increase" in cruise supply in the Caribbean, the Norwegian said, which was by far its largest region.

The company said, however, that longer-term demand trends remained constructive, and particularly strong across its luxury offerings.

Adjusted earnings per share for the latest quarter, which excludes nonrecurring items, rose 46% to 28 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 26 cents. But for 2026, the company expects adjusted EPS of $2.38, or below expectations of $2.57.

That includes a 2026 outlook for fuel price per metric ton of $670, which is up 1.2% from $662 in 2025.

-Tomi Kilgore

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March 02, 2026 07:51 ET (12:51 GMT)

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