Royal Caribbean Cruises Expects Strong 2025 Earnings with 21% Return

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

RCL+0.2%

CCL+0.21%

NCLH+0.53%

Source: Fool

Updated: 1h ago

0mins

Source: Fool

Investment Returns: Royal Caribbean Cruises achieved approximately 21% return in 2025, with a five-year annualized return of 30%, highlighting its investment appeal in a strong economic environment and reinforcing its position as the second-largest cruise line.
New Routes and Destinations: The company launched the new ship 'Star of the Seas' in Q3 2023 and will debut the Royal Beach Club in the Bahamas in December 2024, along with a new destination in Santorini in 2025, expected to drive a 10% increase in Q4 bookings and enhance future revenue potential.
Market Share Growth: A recent industry report projects Royal Caribbean to continue gaining market share through 2033 with a 3% annual growth rate, compared to Carnival's 1.1%, further solidifying its leadership in the cruise market.
Valuation Advantage: With a forward P/E ratio of 15 and a five-year PEG ratio of 0.86, Royal Caribbean presents a reasonable long-term valuation, making it an attractive long-term investment opportunity for patient investors despite macroeconomic influences.

RCL

$286.11+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on RCL

Wall Street analysts forecast RCL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for RCL is 327.80 USD with a low forecast of 275.00 USD and a high forecast of 400.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

16 Analyst Rating

12 Buy

4 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 285.550

Low

275.00

Averages

327.80

High

400.00

Current: 285.550

Low

275.00

Averages

327.80

High

400.00

Goldman Sachs

Buy

maintain

$275 -> $310

2026-01-23

New

Reason

Goldman Sachs

Price Target

$275 -> $310

AI Analysis

2026-01-23

New

maintain

Buy

Reason

Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Royal Caribbean to $310 from $275 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Cruise sentiment has been mixed, with December strength giving way to renewed competitive concerns from Wave Season promotions, shifting focus to the pace and drivers of net yield acceleration from Q2 into the second half, the analyst tells investors in a research note. For Royal Caribbean, initial 2026 guidance is expected to call for 1.5%-3.5% net yield growth and EPS of at least $17.50, with attention centered on a second half ramp driven by new ships, private destinations, and easier comps, alongside potential upside from strong cost control, the firm says.

Mizuho

Outperform

maintain

$378 -> $381

2026-01-22

New

Reason

Mizuho

Price Target

$378 -> $381

2026-01-22

New

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Royal Caribbean to $381 from $378 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm sees currency and fuel costs being tailwinds for the company in Q4. It updated Royal's model ahead of the earnings report.

Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for RCL

Unlock Now

Truist

C. Patrick Scholes

Hold

downgrade

$321 -> $318

2026-01-22

New

Reason

Truist

C. Patrick Scholes

Price Target

$321 -> $318

2026-01-22

New

downgrade

Hold

Reason

Truist analyst C. Patrick Scholes lowered the firm's price target on Royal Caribbean to $318 from $321 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares as part of a broader research note on Cruise Lines. The firm notes that from its lengthy conversations over the past month with senior executives in the travel industry and from examining "big data" on future cruise bookings and pricing, the bottom line is that supply for the contemporary/mass-market segment continues to be slightly higher than that of demand, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Truist adds that investors should have relatively low-expectations for first-half net yield growth.

Stifel

Buy

downgrade

$400 -> $380

2026-01-20

New

Reason

Stifel

Price Target

$400 -> $380

2026-01-20

New

downgrade

Buy

Reason

Stifel lowered the firm's price target on Royal Caribbean to $380 from $400 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Heading into the company providing guidance, the firm believes initial 2026 guidance "will be fair and should provide 'some' cushion for upside throughout the year," but warns investors not to expect "the significant outperformance relative to initial guidance that's been witnessed post-COVID." It "wouldn't surprise us" if Royal's initial guidance underwhelms and shares experience a near-term correction, the analyst added.

About RCL

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a cruise company, which owns and operates three global cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises. It also has an interest in TUI Cruises GmbH, which operates the German brands TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Its ships offer a selection of worldwide itineraries that call on approximately 1,000 destinations on all seven continents. Royal Caribbean International offers cruises and land destinations that generally feature a casual ambiance, as well as a variety of activities and entertainment venues. Celebrity Cruises offers a range of itineraries to destinations, including Alaska, Asia, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, New Zealand, the Panama Canal and South America, with cruise lengths ranging from three to 14 nights. It also offers a range of private land destinations through Perfect Day at CocoCay, includes full water park, zip line course, and others.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.