Carnival Corporation Ltd CCL

Middle East Chaos Causes Near-Term Caution for Carnival, but Long-Term Strategy Remains Solid

Carnival remains a leader in the cruise industry, with eight global brands and nearly 100 ships delivering holiday experiences. The global cruise market remains underpenetrated, offering cruise companies a long-term demand opportunity. The ability to reposition and redeploy ships to faster-growing and underrepresented regions like Asia-Pacific has historically helped balance the supply in high-capacity regions like the Caribbean and Mediterranean, a factor that the firm can mobilize to help optimize forward pricing. Postpandemic global demand and occupancy profiles have returned to normalized levels, but we believe there is still support for improving economic performance at Carnival.