Posted on July 29, 2026
MIAMI, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) today reported second quarter Earnings per Share (“EPS”) of $4.20 and Adjusted EPS of $4.21. These results were better than the company’s guidance, driven by strong close-in demand, lower costs, and favorable performance from joint ventures. The company now expects full year Adjusted EPS to be in the range of $17.73 to $17.87. The increase in earnings expectations reflects the stronger-than-expected second quarter performance and an improved outlook for the remainder of the year. This outlook incorporates a modest booking impact for select itineraries primarily due to prolonged geopolitical activity.
“The strong second quarter performance demonstrates the continued strength of our brands, the appeal of our vacation experiences, and the momentum in our business,” said Jason Liberty, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “We expect another year of approximately double-digit growth in revenue and earnings, driven by consumers’ preference for our leading brands and supported by our strong booked position, leading margin profile, and fortified balance sheet.”
“We continue to expand, elevate and differentiate our portfolio of vacation experiences,” Liberty added. “Legend of the Seas, which launched earlier this month as the third ship in our Icon class, is part of a platform that is reshaping the cruising experience and delivering exceptional returns. Its successful debut represents another important milestone in the execution of our innovation pipeline as we continue to redefine the vacation experience. At the same time, we are deepening guest engagement through our loyalty and technology platforms – strengthening our relationships with guests, increasing repeat rates, and positioning us to capture a greater share of the growing $2 trillion global vacation market.”
Second Quarter 2026:
- Total revenue was $4.8 billion, a 6% increase year over year. Load factor in the second quarter was 110%.
- Gross Margin Yields decreased 5.6% as-reported. Net Yields increased 1.9% as-reported and 1.2% in Constant Currency.
- Gross Cruise Costs per Available Passenger Cruise Days (“APCD”) increased 4.5% as-reported. Net Cruise Costs (“NCC”), excluding Fuel, per APCD increased 4.4% as-reported and 3.9% in Constant Currency.
- Net Income was $1.1 billion or $4.20 per share, Adjusted Net Income was $1.1 billion or $4.21 per share, and Adjusted EBITDA was $1.8 billion.
Full Year 2026 Outlook:
- Revenue is expected to grow 9% year over year. Net Yields are expected to increase 2.35% to 2.85% as-reported and 1.75% to 2.25% in Constant Currency.
- NCC, excluding Fuel, per APCD are expected to increase approximately 0.4% as-reported and be approximately flat in Constant Currency.
- Adjusted EPS is expected to be in the range of $17.73 to $17.87, representing 14% year over year growth, and a 23% CAGR over the first two years of the company’s Perfecta program, which targets a 20% earnings CAGR from 2024 to 2027 and ROIC in the high teens by 2027.
Second Quarter 2026 Results
Net Income for the second quarter of 2026 was $1.1 billion or $4.20 per share compared to Net Income of $1.2 billion or $4.41 per share for the same period in the prior year. Adjusted Net Income was $1.1 billion or $4.21 per share for the second quarter of 2026 compared to Adjusted Net Income of $1.2 billion or $4.38 per share for the same period in the prior year. The company also reported total revenues of $4.8 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion.
Capacity for the second quarter was up 5% year over year and the company delivered memorable vacations to 2.4 million guests, a 6% increase year over year. Total revenue increased 6% year over year. Gross Margin Yields decreased 5.6% as-reported, and Net Yields increased 1.9% as-reported (1.2% in Constant Currency), when compared to the second quarter of 2025. Load factor for the quarter was 110%. Net Yield growth exceeded the company’s guidance primarily driven by better than expected close-in demand.
Gross Cruise Costs per APCD increased 4.5% as-reported, compared to the second quarter of 2025. NCC, excluding Fuel, per APCD increased 4.4% as-reported (and 3.9% in Constant Currency), when compared to the second quarter of 2025. The better-than-expected cost performance in the second quarter was primarily driven by favorable timing of expenses.
Update on Bookings and Onboard Revenue
The overall demand environment remains strong, supported by consumers’ continued preference for the company’s differentiated experiences. Since the last earnings call, the company has experienced a modest, near-term impact on bookings for select itineraries, primarily due to prolonged geopolitical activity. The company remains booked at record prices, booking volumes are above last year’s levels, and load factors remain robust across its vacation portfolio. The company continues to benefit from strong guest engagement and demand for onboard and destination experiences, supported by ongoing enhancements to its product offerings and more targeted pre-cruise engagement.
“Consumer demand for our vacation experiences is strong, and guests continue to demonstrate a desire to spend on memorable experiences with us,” said Naftali Holtz, Chief Financial Officer, Royal Caribbean Group. “As we build a broader vacation platform, we are giving guests more reasons to vacation with Royal Caribbean across more occasions, while reinforcing our ability to drive higher engagement and spend over time. While still very early, booking trends for 2027 are encouraging and pacing ahead of historical levels, including for itineraries where demand was impacted by geopolitical developments this year.”
Third Quarter 2026
Net Yields are expected to be approximately flat as-reported and in Constant Currency as compared to 2025, reflecting continued healthy demand and pricing at record levels leading to expected total revenue growth of 8%.
NCC, excluding Fuel, per APCD, is expected to decrease 1.7% to 1.2% as-reported and 1.6% to 1.1% in Constant Currency as compared to 2025.
Based on current fuel pricing, interest rates, currency exchange rates and the factors detailed above, the company expects third quarter Adjusted EPS to be in the range of $6.26 to $6.36.
Fuel Expense
Bunker pricing, net of hedging, for the second quarter was $839 per metric ton and consumption was 422,000 metric tons.
The company does not forecast fuel prices and its fuel cost calculations are based on current at-the-pump prices, net of hedging impacts. Based on current fuel prices, the company has included $362 million of fuel expense in its third quarter guidance at a forecasted consumption of 441,000 metric tons, which is 58% hedged via swaps.
Forecasted consumption is 58%, 53%, 29%, and 14% hedged via swaps for 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 respectively. The annual average cost per metric ton of the hedge portfolio is approximately $474, $405, $424, and $451 for 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 respectively.
Liquidity
As of June 30, 2026, the Group’s liquidity position was $6.9 billion, which includes cash and cash equivalents and undrawn revolving credit facility capacity. In July, the company increased its revolving credit facility capacity by $250 million, through the accordion feature, to a total capacity of $6.6 billion.
During the second quarter, the company returned over $600 million to shareholders through $199 million of share repurchases, totaling 0.8 million shares, and $404 million of dividend payments. The company has $805 million remaining under its current share repurchase program authorization.
The company noted that as of June 30, 2026, the scheduled debt maturities for 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 were $0.9 billion, $2.7 billion, $3.4 billion, $1.2 billion, and $1.3 billion respectively.
Capital Expenditures and Capacity Guidance
Capital expenditures for the full year 2026 are expected to be approximately $4.7 billion, based on current foreign exchange rates and are predominantly related to the company’s new ship order book and land-based destination initiatives. The company took delivery of Legend of the Seas during the second quarter. In April the company also announced orders for Icon VI and Icon VII, with committed financing in place. Non-new ship related capital expenditures are expected to be $1.6 billion.
Capacity changes for 2026 are expected to be 6.6% compared to 2025. Capacity changes for 2027, 2028, and 2029 are expected to be 4%, 6%, and 7%, respectively. These figures do not include potential ship sales or additions that the company may elect in the future.
Conference call scheduled
The company has scheduled a conference call at 10 a.m. Eastern Time today. This call can be heard, either live or on a delayed basis, on the company’s investor relations website at www.rclinvestor.com.
Definitions
Selected Operational and Financial Metrics
Adjusted Earnings per Share (“Adjusted EPS”) is a non-GAAP measure that represents Adjusted Net Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (as defined below) divided by weighted average shares outstanding or by diluted weighted average shares outstanding, as applicable. We believe that this non-GAAP measure is meaningful when assessing our performance on a comparative basis.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that represents EBITDA (as defined below) excluding certain items that we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our profitability on a comparative basis. For the periods presented, these items included (i) other income; (ii) restructuring charges and other initiative expenses; and (iii) equity investment impairment, (recovery) of losses and other.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is a non-GAAP measure that represents Adjusted EBITDA (as defined above) divided by total revenues.
Adjusted Gross Margin represents Gross Margin, adjusted for payroll and related, food, fuel, other operating, and depreciation and amortization expenses. Gross Margin is calculated pursuant to GAAP as total revenues less total cruise operating expenses, and depreciation and amortization.
Adjusted Net Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a non-GAAP measure that represents Net Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., excluding certain items that we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our performance on a comparative basis. For the periods presented, these items included (i) loss on extinguishment of debt and inducement expense; (ii) restructuring charges and other initiative expenses; (iii) the amortization of the Silversea intangible assets resulting from the Silversea acquisition; (iv) gain on sale of noncontrolling interest; and (v) equity investment impairment, recovery of losses, and other.
Adjusted Operating Income is a non-GAAP measure that represents operating income including income from equity investments and provision for income taxes but excluding certain items for which we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our operating performance on a comparative basis. We use this non-GAAP measure to calculate ROIC (as defined below).
Available Passenger Cruise Days (“APCD”) is our measurement of capacity and represents double occupancy per cabin multiplied by the number of cruise days for the period, which excludes canceled cruise days and cabins not available for sale. We use this measure to perform capacity and rate analysis to identify our main non-capacity drivers that cause our cruise revenue and expenses to vary.
Constant Currency is a significant measure for our revenues and expenses, which are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Because our reporting currency is the U.S. Dollar, the value of these revenues and expenses in U.S. Dollar will be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. Although such changes in local currency prices are just one of many elements impacting our revenues and expenses, it can be an important element. For this reason, we also monitor our revenues and expenses in “Constant Currency” – i.e., as if the current period’s currency exchange rates had remained constant with the comparable prior period’s rates. We calculate “Constant Currency” by applying the average of the prior period exchange rates for each of the corresponding months, of the reported and/or forecasted period, so as to calculate what the results would have been had exchange rates been the same throughout both periods. We do not make predictions about future exchange rates and use current exchange rates for calculations of future periods. It should be emphasized that the use of Constant Currency is primarily used by us for comparing short-term changes and/or projections. Over the longer term, changes in guest sourcing and shifting the amount of purchases between currencies can significantly change the impact of the purely currency-based fluctuations.
EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that represents Net Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. excluding (i) interest income; (ii) interest expense, net of interest capitalized; (iii) depreciation and amortization expenses; and (iv) provision for income taxes. We believe that this non-GAAP measure is meaningful when assessing our operating performance on a comparative basis.
Gross Cruise Costs represent the sum of total cruise operating expenses plus marketing, selling and administrative expenses.
Gross Margin Yield represent Gross Margin per APCD.
Invested Capital represents the most recent five-quarter average of total debt (i.e., Current portion of long-term debt plus Long-term debt) plus the most recent five-quarter average of Total shareholders’ equity. We use this measure to calculate ROIC (as defined below).
Net Cruise Costs and Net Cruise Costs excluding Fuel are non-GAAP measures that represent Gross Cruise Costs excluding commissions, transportation and other expenses, and onboard and other expenses and, in the case of Net Cruise Costs excluding Fuel, fuel expenses. In measuring our ability to control costs in a manner that positively impacts net income, we believe changes in Net Cruise Costs and Net Cruise Costs excluding Fuel to be the most relevant indicators of our cost performance. For the periods presented, Net Cruise Costs and Net Cruise Costs excluding Fuel excludes restructuring charges and other initiative expenses.
Net Yields represent Adjusted Gross Margin per APCD. We utilize Adjusted Gross Margin and Net Yields to manage our business on a day-to-day basis as we believe that they are the most relevant measures of our pricing performance because they reflect the cruise revenues earned by us net of our most significant variable costs, which are commissions, transportation and other expenses, and onboard and other expenses.
Occupancy (“Load factor”), in accordance with cruise vacation industry practice, is calculated by dividing Passenger Cruise Days (as defined below) by APCD. A percentage in excess of 100% indicates that three or more passengers occupied some cabins.
Passenger Cruise Days (“PCD”) represent the number of passengers carried for the period multiplied by the number of days of their respective cruises.
Perfecta Program refers to the multi-year Adjusted EPS and ROIC goals we are seeking to achieve by end of 2027. Under our Perfecta Program, we are targeting 20% compound annual growth rate in Adjusted EPS compared to 2024 and ROIC of 17% or higher by the end of 2027.
Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”) represents Adjusted Operating Income divided by Invested Capital. We believe ROIC is a meaningful measure because it quantifies how efficiently we generated operating income relative to the capital we have invested in the business.
For additional information see “Adjusted Measures of Financial Performance” below.
About Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group is a leading global vacation company spanning cruise, exclusive destinations, and land-based vacation experiences. The company operates 71 ships sailing to more than 1,000 destinations across all seven continents through its three wholly owned brands -Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea – and a 50% joint venture interest in TUI Cruises which operates the Mein Schiff and Hapag-Lloyd brands.
The Group is expanding its portfolio of private destinations from three to eight by 2028 through its Perfect Day and Royal Beach Club collections, and the company will enter river cruising in 2027 with Celebrity River Cruises. Powered by innovative brands, advanced technology, and an industry-leading loyalty program, the company has built a connected vacation ecosystem, turning the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations.
Named to the Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies 2026 list and to Forbes’ 2026 Best American Companies lists, Royal Caribbean Group is guided by its mission to deliver the best vacations responsibly. For more information, visit www.royalcaribbeangroup.com.
