Executive Summary
Carnival Corporation plc reported QQ1 2025 revenue of $5.81 billion, up 7.45% year-over-year but down 2.16% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting ongoing demand recovery tempered by seasonal headwinds. Gross profit rose 20.09% YoY to $2.044 billion with a gross margin of 35.18%, while operating income expanded 96.74% YoY to $543 million, yielding an operating margin of 9.35%. Despite these improvements, the company posted a net loss of $78 million for the quarter (EPS -$0.0596), as heavy interest expense and a sizeable negative contribution from total other income/expenses weighed on bottom-line results. EBITDA was $957 million with an EBITDAR margin of 16.47%. The cash flow story is more constructive: operating cash flow of $925 million and free cash flow of $318 million supported by disciplined capital expenditure of $607 million, resulting in a cash balance of $856 million at period end. Net debt stood at approximately $27.56 billion on total debt of $28.39 billion, underscoring the substantial leverage that remains a key investor concern. Management commentary points to a gradual return to higher yields and occupancy, but the earnings trajectory remains sensitive to interest costs, fuel pricing, and macro volatility. The near-term thesis hinges on deleveraging progress, sustained capacity discipline, and improving pricing power as the cruise cycle normalizes. Investors should monitor liquidity, debt maturity profiles, and yield optimization initiatives as the company works toward sustainable profitability.
Key Performance Indicators
QoQ: -125.74% | YoY:63.55%
QoQ: -135.06% | YoY:64.94%
Key Insights
Revenue: $5.81B, YoY +7.45%, QoQ -2.16%; Gross Profit: $2.044B, YoY +20.09%, QoQ -2.90%; Operating Income: $0.543B, YoY +96.74%, QoQ -3.21%; Net Income: -$0.078B, YoY +63.55%, QoQ -125.74%; EPS: -$0.0596, YoY +64.94%, QoQ -135.06%; EBITDA: $0.957B, EBITDARatio 16.47%; Operating Margin: 9.34%; Net Margin: -1.34%; Free Cash Flow: $0.318B; Cash from Operations: $0.925B; Capex: $0.607B; Cash Balance: $0.856B; Net Debt: $27.556B; Total Debt: $28.391B; Current Ratio: 0.227, Quick Ratio: 0.182, Cash Ra...
Financial Highlights
Revenue: $5.81B, YoY +7.45%, QoQ -2.16%; Gross Profit: $2.044B, YoY +20.09%, QoQ -2.90%; Operating Income: $0.543B, YoY +96.74%, QoQ -3.21%; Net Income: -$0.078B, YoY +63.55%, QoQ -125.74%; EPS: -$0.0596, YoY +64.94%, QoQ -135.06%; EBITDA: $0.957B, EBITDARatio 16.47%; Operating Margin: 9.34%; Net Margin: -1.34%; Free Cash Flow: $0.318B; Cash from Operations: $0.925B; Capex: $0.607B; Cash Balance: $0.856B; Net Debt: $27.556B; Total Debt: $28.391B; Current Ratio: 0.227, Quick Ratio: 0.182, Cash Ratio: 0.0719; Debt-to-Capitalization: 0.756; Debt-to-Equity: 3.09; Interest Coverage: 1.45; P/S: 5.33; P/BV: 3.37; EV/EBITDA: 61.15; P/E: Negative; Dividend Yield: 0%. These metrics reflect a recovery-led top line and improving profitability metrics but a still-elevated leverage stack and liquidity constraints that will influence valuation and risk assessment going forward.
Income Statement
| Metric |
Value |
YoY Change |
QoQ Change |
| Revenue |
5.81B |
7.45% |
-2.16% |
| Gross Profit |
2.04B |
20.09% |
-2.90% |
| Operating Income |
543.00M |
96.74% |
-3.21% |
| Net Income |
-78.00M |
63.55% |
-125.74% |
| EPS |
-0.06 |
64.94% |
-135.06% |
Key Financial Ratios
operatingProfitMargin
9.33%
operatingCashFlowPerShare
$0.71
freeCashFlowPerShare
$0.24
priceEarningsRatio
-99.22
Management Commentary
No earnings call transcript data provided in the supplied materials. Consequently, there are no management quotes or theme-level takeaways from an QQ1 2025 conference call to summarize under this field. If transcripts become available, we will extract themes by strategy, operations, market conditions, and guidance nuances with direct quotes.
Forward Guidance
Carnival did not publish formal quarterly guidance within the provided data. In a recovering leisure travel environment, the near-term focus is likely to remain on deleveraging, stabilizing yields and occupancy at higher levels, and maintaining liquidity to navigate interest expense and debt maturities. Management commentary would typically address capacity management, fleets, pricing power, and cost discipline. Ongoing industry tailwinds include replacing deferred demand through favorable pricing, stronger advance bookings, and improved onboard revenue mix. Key factors investors should monitor: (i) progress on reducing net debt and extending debt maturities, (ii) trajectory of occupancy and average ticket yields as demand normalizes, (iii) fuel price volatility and its impact on operating costs, (iv) capital allocation choices (balance sheet repair vs. shareholder returns vs. share repurchases when deleveraging milestones are achieved). Based on current data, the achievability of a meaningful margin expansion hinges on sustained demand, disciplined cost control, and improved capital structure.