Cruise lines continue to ride the earnings wave as Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reported second-quarter results early Tuesday. NCLH stock sailed 80% higher so far this year before earnings but hit choppy waters on Norwegian Cruise Line's outlook.
Cruise lines are posting powerful gains in 2023 as consumers embark on long-awaited vacations delayed by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. The IBD Leisure-Services industry group swung 12.2% higher so far this year, led by Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Carnival beat estimates in late June and noted it expects to return to profitability this year. CCL stock spiked nearly 130% in 2023 and was the IBD Stock of The Day for Thursday. Royal Caribbean trounced quarterly views early Thursday and hoisted its full-year earnings guidance by 33%.
Separately, Marriott Worldwide beat views early Tuesday on a busy week for hotel and online booking earnings.
Norwegian Cruise Line Earnings
Norwegian Cruise Line posted its first positive earnings since Q4 2019. The company reported adjusted earnings of 30 cents per share on an 85% revenue spike to a record $2.2 billion.
Analysts expected Norwegian Cruise Line earnings improve to 26 cents per share from a loss of $1.14 per share last year. Revenue was seen soaring 82% to $2.16 billion.
Occupancy for the second quarter was in-line with the company's guidance at 105%. The occupancy rate was slightly lower than Q2 2019 due to the shift on longer, more immersive itineraries, Norwegian Cruise Line wrote in its results. Full-year occupancy is expected to average 103.5%, which is consistent with its prior guidance.
Norwegian Cruise Lines guided Q3 earnings to improve to 70 cents per share from a loss of 64 cents per share last year. However, the outlook is below the FactSet forecast of 80 cents.
The company sees full-year earnings improving to 80 cents per share from a loss of $4.64 per share in 2022. Norwegian Cruise Line reported earnings of $5.09 per share in 2019 before the pandemic. For the year, FactSet guided 2023 earnings at 79 cents per share.
NCLH Stock
Norwegian Cruise stock fell another 4% to 18.64 Wednesday after tumbling 12% to 19.41 Tuesday following results. Shares rose 2.5% to 22.08 Monday.
NCLH stock has been consolidating near a profit-taking zone after rallying about 22% from an 18.12 cup base buy point. Norwegian Cruise Line shares are near 2023 highs following the June 12 break out, and trading at their highest level since last April.
NCLH stock fell below its 10-day moving average and 21-day moving average Tuesday and slipped below its 50-day line Wednesday.
CCL stock fell 1.5% Wednesday to 17.72, adding to its 4.5% decline Tuesday. CCL stock rose 1.9% to 18.84 Monday morning. Shares climbed 3.4% last week. Carnival stock bounced off its 21-day exponential moving average Wednesday, breaking a trendline in a short consolidation. Investors could use Thursday's high of 18.81 as a buy point. The current buy zone, which stretches 5% beyond the buy point, extends to 18.91.
RCL stock eased another 2% Wednesday and dipped 1.5% Tuesday. Shares surged 6% last week following Royal Caribbean earnings. Shares are trading near their highest level since February 2020.
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