Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for RCL Q1 Earnings

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings of $3.18 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.16. The consensus estimate for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ current full-year earnings is $14.90 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Q2 2027 earnings at $5.79 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $20.41 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $23.57 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $319.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $86.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total transaction of $16,739,778.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 28,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 4,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.99, for a total transaction of $1,456,931.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,875.33. This trade represents a 30.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607 over the last quarter. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,595,000 after acquiring an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% during the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,539,000 after purchasing an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,241,000 after buying an additional 398,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

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.