Carnival Reports $92 Million Profit and Record Cruise Bookings

Carnival Corporation (CCL) posted a net profit of $92 million for the second quarter, beating analysts’ estimates. This marked an increase of almost half a billion dollars from the 2023 second-quarter results.

In fact, Wall Street analysts had expected another quarterly loss. This is a significant turnaround from the 2024 Q2 loss of $214 million.

“We closed record revenues, operating income, customer deposits, and booking levels,” CEO Josh Weinstein said.

It exceeded guidance on all metrics. The record numbers were driven by higher average cruise fares and more onboard spending. Overall Q2 revenue rose to $5.78 billion.

With demand showing no signs of weakening, Carnival has upped its full-year 2024 net yield guidance to around 10.25% and adjusted net income to $1.5 billion, up by $275 million from the previous guidance.

Best Ever Booked Position

The company said total customer deposits are at an all-time high of $8.3 billion. This is more than $1 billion above the previous best. The company’s booked position for the rest of the year and for full-year 2025 is the best ever. “While still early, the cumulative advance booking for full year 2025 is even higher than 2024 in both price and occupancy.”

Carnival said it paid off $6.6 billion of debt during the last 15 months.

“We continue to manage down debt and interest expenses while also reducing the complexity of our capital structure,” said Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein.

Carnival Corp ended the quarter with $4.6 billion of liquidity.

One Carnival Brand Sunsets in 2025

Operational costs based on available lower berth days rose 4% during the quarter. The cruise company expects cost-saving in March 2025, when the Australian brand P&O Cruises shuts down. The P&O Cruises (Australia) business will be absorbed into Carnival Cruise Line.