Why Carnival Stock Jumped Today

By Joe Tenebruso – Dec 19, 2025 at 6:49PM ESTKey PointsThe cruise industry is alive and well.After years of turbulence, management sees calmer seas ahead.These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NYSE: CCLCarnival Corp.Market Cap$37BToday's Changeangle-down(9.86%) $2.79Current Price$31.14Price as of December 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM ETRecord profits prompted the cruise ship operator to reinstate its dividend.Shares of Carnival (CCL +9.86%)(CUK +17.63%) climbed on Friday after the cruise line announced record earnings and issued an upbeat forecast for the year ahead. Image source: Carnival. Carnival's profits are soaring Carnival's fourth-quarter revenue rose 7% year over year to $6.3 billion. The company's net yields -- a key indicator of pricing power that subtracts certain variable costs from revenue per available passenger cruise day -- improved by 5.4% on a constant currency basis to $200.84. These gains, combined with Carnival's cost-control initiatives, helped to drive its adjusted net income higher by a whopping 140% to $454 million, or $0.34 per share. That bested Wall Street's estimates, which had called for adjusted per-share earnings of $0.25. ExpandNYSE: CCLCarnival Corp.Today's Change(9.86%) $2.79Current Price$31.14Key Data PointsMarket Cap$37BDay's Range$27.96 - $31.4852wk Range$15.07 - $32.80Volume3MAvg Vol23MGross Margin29.12% For the full year, Carnival's adjusted net income surged by more than 60% to $3.1 billion. "The momentum is carrying into 2026, which is shaping up to surpass even these remarkable results with another year of double-digit earnings growth and return on invested capital expected to exceed 13.5%, closing in on our 20-year high," CEO Josh Weinstein said in a press release.Advertisement Carnival is reinstating its dividend Carnival has used some of its free cash flow to pay down over $10 billion of debt in less than three years. Now with lower leverage ratios and a stronger balance sheet, the cruise ship leader decided the time was right to begin returning capital to shareholders. Carnival's board of directors approved the reinstatement of its quarterly cash dividend at an initial rate of $0.15 per share payable on Feb. 27. "This decision highlights confidence in our future performance and continued commitment to delivering value to shareholders," CFO David Bernstein said.Read NextDec 19, 2025 •By Josh Kohn-LindquistStock Market Today, Dec. 19: Carnival Jumps on Record Profits and Dividend ReinstatementDec 16, 2025 •By Rick MunarrizWill Carnival Corp.

Lead Cruise Line Stocks Higher in 2026?Dec 10, 2025 •By Justin PopeIs 2026 the Big Payoff Carnival Cruise Investors Have Waited For?Dec 7, 2025 •By Neil PatelWhere Will Carnival Stock Be in 5 Years?Dec 6, 2025 •By Will EbiefungIs it Time to Buy Carnival Stock?Dec 3, 2025 •By David Jagielski, CPAWhat's Wrong With Carnival Corp Stock?About the AuthorJoe Tenebruso is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst. Previously, Joe was an investment analyst for Stock Advisor, Income Investor, and Crypto Society, as well as several other market-beating investing services. He graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.tmfguardianX@Tier1InvestorStocks MentionedCarnival Corp.NYSE: CCL$31.14 (+0.10%) $+2.79Carnival Corp.NYSE: CUK$30.96 (+0.18%) $+4.64*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.Advertisement