RCL US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $335.18 · 2026-11-11
Royal Caribbean Group operates a fleet of ships providing cruise vacations under several brands, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The company serves global markets by offering itineraries to various destinations across all continents and manages a portfolio of private land-based destinations. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-11)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 27 Oct 2026 and 28 Jul 2026
Net income up 53.2% on the previous quarter. Management sounded upbeat, in its script and in answers to analysts.
Only a basic analysis is available for this company at the moment.
1 · Numbers
+53.2%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 1.73B vs 1.13B
Revenue +15.7%
Against the same quarter last year (Q3 2025) it is +9.7% — part of the move on last quarter is seasonal.
2 · How management spoke
Upbeat
More upbeat than 85% of company calls
Answers to analysts: upbeat, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Guidance
Royal Caribbean now expects full-year fuel expense of approximately $1.35 billion.
Valuation
Is Royal Caribbean Group undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 20.0% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $143.45 a share — the stock trades 134% above it. Today's price assumes 28.5% growth a year.
Current price
$335.18
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+28.5% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$143.45
Buy below
$107.59
Price vs fair value
Overvalued 134%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Read between the lines
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Guidance
Royal Caribbean expects continued cash flow to grow to support margin expansion, investment in its strategic initiatives, solid investment-grade balance sheet metrics, and continued capital returns to shareholders.
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Figure
Caribbean All-Inclusive is an attractive $16 billion market, growing 11% a year, and Sandals and Beaches Resorts is a leading owner-operator...
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Fading
Net cruise costs per APCD, excluding fuel, were up 3.9% year-over-year, about 90 basis points better than expected.
Source quote
“Net cruise costs per APCD, excluding fuel, were up 3.9% year-over-year, about 90 basis points better than expected, driven by the timing... We have seen consumers choosing to book closer to the vacation time, mainly driven by flexibility and ease. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.8 billion, EBITDA margin was 38% and operating cash flow was $1.9 billion.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“I'm very happy to share the results of another outstanding quarter that exceeded our expectations and drove an increase to full-year guidance as demand for our leading vacation brands continues...”
“Since the last earnings call, booking volumes have increased in the mid-teens year-over-year, and bookings for 2027 sailings up in the high teens demonstrating strong demand as we continue to...”
“We are executing from a position of strength with a growing base of loyal guests and expanding portfolio of differentiated vacation experiences and significant opportunities ahead.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-09-30)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-09-30 | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 5.59B | 4.83B | +15.7% | 5.14B | +8.8% |
| Gross profit | 2.88B | 2.29B | +26.0% | 2.66B | +8.3% |
| Operating income | 1.87B | 1.31B | +43.2% | 1.70B | +9.9% |
| Net income | 1.73B | 1.13B | +53.2% | 1.57B | +9.7% |
| EPS | 6.45 | 4.20 | +53.6% | 5.74 | +12.4% |
| P/E today 17.5 | 19.6 | 16.8 | +2.8 | 23.1 | −3.5 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- New They basically spend as much as they would on a short trip as they would on a six or seven...
- New There is this massive land bank and of course Royal Caribbean will collectively be reevaluating how it grows this business and...
- Naftali will follow with a recap of Royal Caribbean's third quarter, the current booking environment, and its outlook for 2026.
- I'm very happy to share the results of another outstanding quarter that exceeded Royal Caribbean's expectations and drove an increase to...
- At the same time, Royal Caribbean is building a connected vacation platform that brings guests back more frequently across more occasions...
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading Unless Royal Caribbean states otherwise, all metrics are on a constant currency adjusted basis.
- Fading The continued expansion of yields and capacity resulted in a total revenue growth of 6% for the quarter.
- Fading Royal Caribbean did, however, experience a modest and near-term impact on 2026 bookings since the last earnings call, primarily due to...
- Fading They might be a little bit hesitant longer term, within 12 months when they're looking at airfare, right, because airfare...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Group reported third-quarter revenue of $5.6 billion, an increase of 9% year over year, with an adjusted EPS of $6.57.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. entered into an agreement to acquire a 50% equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for a base purchase price of approximately $3.0 billion in cash.
- Material agreement; New financial obligation · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. completed an offering of $1,250,000,000 of 5.550% Senior Notes due 2034, receiving approximately $1.24 billion in net proceeds to repay and refinance existing debt.
- Material agreement · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. entered into an underwriting agreement to issue $1,250,000,000 of 5.550% Senior Notes due 2034 to repay portions of its outstanding borrowings and refinance other debt.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. issued a press release on July 28, 2026, regarding its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.
- Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. appointed Tara Bunch, a former executive at Airbnb, Apple, and Hewlett Packard, to its Board of Directors on July 16, 2026.
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
The Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) announced on May 19, 2026, that it will deny the company's initial application for environmental permits for the Perfect Day Mexico project.