Carnival Corporation reports record Q2 revenue alongside drop in net profit

Carnival Corporation has reported a 5% year-on-year fall in second-quarter profits to $537 million, alongside a record-breaking second-quarter revenue figure of nearly $6.7 billion.

The group, which owns cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Seabourn and Princess Cruises, published its financial results for the three months up to May 31 on Tuesday.

The revenue figure rose by about 5% year on year, having been $6.3 billion in the second quarter last year, though net profit fell from last year’s $565 million.

Carnival Corporation chief executive Josh Weinstein hailed “another quarter of record results”, adding: “These results reflect the strong demand for our portfolio of world-class cruise lines and the continued progress we are making across the business.”

He said the performance came despite “extreme geopolitical headwinds and nearly 30% higher fuel costs”.

Fuel costs rose from $468 million in the second quarter of last year to $595 million this year, an increase of 27%.

On advance sales, Weinstein said: “Our booked position for the second half of 2026 is higher than last year, at historically high prices (in constant currency), despite navigating more than a full quarter of extreme geopolitical volatility that primarily impacted booking trends for our European deployments, particularly in the Mediterranean region, which were closest in proximity to the conflict in the Middle East.

“For those deployments, we leaned into the substantial occupancy advantage we had strategically built to deliberately prioritise pricing integrity.

“We are now 93% booked for the year with less inventory remaining for sale than this time last year and are on track for record net yields in the second half of 2026.

“Looking further out, demand for 2027 and beyond remains strong. Since March, booking volumes and prices for these future sailings have been running ahead of prior year levels, including a substantial increase in bookings for our European deployments next year. These trends reinforce our confidence in the longer-term demand environment.

“Our booking curve remains the furthest out on record, reflecting the power of our world-class portfolio of cruise lines, the durability of our demand generation efforts and the exceptional vacation experiences we deliver.

“Continued strength in demand is also reflected in higher second quarter onboard revenues, increased pre-cruise onboard sales and record customer deposits.”