MW Royal Caribbean boosts profit outlook as record bookings highlight cruise appeal

By Tomi Kilgore

Stock rallies toward a sixth straight gain, as another quarterly earnings beat offsets a slight revenue miss

Shares of Royal Caribbean Group were climbing toward a sixth straight gain on Tuesday, after the cruise operator beat first-quarter profit expectations and boosted its full-year outlook, as it took in record bookings during the peak season.

The company also reported first-quarter profit that more than doubled from a year ago, and extended its streak of bottom-line beats to 12 quarters, even as revenue came up a bit short.

The stock $(RCL)$ rallied 4.9% toward a nearly two-month high in premarket trading, after climbing 14.1% over the past five sessions.

The company said it expects 2025 adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, of $14.55 to $15.55, up from previous guidance of $14.35 to $14.65. That compares with the FactSet consensus of $14.94.

The bullish outlook comes after the company said it had record bookings during "wave season." It's the busiest booking time - coming in the first quarter - when cruise promotions peak.

"Additionally, during April, the company's bookings were greater than the same period last year, including continued strength in close-in bookings," the company said, referring to last-minute reservations.

Chief Executive Jason Liberty said the results showed the "enduring appeal and attractive value proposition" of the company's cruises in the face of the uncertain economic environment.

Read: Royal Caribbean CEO explains why cruises are so popular.

For the first quarter, net income jumped 103% from a year ago to $730 million. Adjusted EPS rose to $2.71 from $1.77, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.55.

Revenue grew 7.3% to $3.999 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $4.01 billion to mark the third-straight top-line miss.

Passenger ticket revenue increased 7.9% to $2.74 billion, above expectations of $2.69 billion, and onboard and other revenue was up 5.8% to $1.26 billion.

The company said bookings in April to start the second quarter were above levels seen last year, including continued strength in close-in bookings.

Occupancy improved to 108.8% from 107%, to top expectations of 108.2%. Occupancy above 100% indicates that three or more passengers were in some cabins.

Royal Caribbean's stock has slipped 6.2% in 2025 through Monday, while the S&P 500 index SPX has lost 6%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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April 29, 2025 08:41 ET (12:41 GMT)

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