ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS AND RAISES FULL YEAR GUIDANCE

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:

Full Year 2026 Outlook:

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.

The company provided the following guidance for the third quarter and full year 2026:

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. 

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relating to, among other things, our future performance estimates, forecasts and projections constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to: statements regarding revenues, costs and financial results for 2026 and beyond; anticipated timing for launch of private destinations, our progress toward achievement of our Perfecta program; demand for our brands; expectations on river cruise offerings; future capital expenditures; and expectations regarding our credit profile and fuel expenses. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "committed," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "encouraged," "project," "shaping up," "position," "allows," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "considering," and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of the economic and geopolitical environment, including changing tariffs and the related uncertainty thereof, on key aspects of our business, such as the demand for cruises, passenger spending, and operating costs; changes in operating costs; the unavailability or cost of air service; disease outbreaks and increased concern about the risk of illness on our ships or when travelling to or from our ships, which could cause a decrease in demand, guest cancellations, and ship redeployments; incidents or adverse publicity concerning our ships, port facilities, land destinations and/or passengers or the cruise vacation industry in general; the effects of weather, climate events and/or natural disasters on our business; risks related to our sustainability activities; the impact of issues at shipyards, including ship delivery delays, ship cancellations or ship construction cost increases; shipyard unavailability; unavailability of ports of call; vacation industry competition and increase in industry capacity and overcapacity; inability to manage our cost and capital allocation strategies; the uncertainties of conducting business globally and expanding into new markets and new ventures, including potential acquisitions; issues with travel advisers that sell and market our cruises; reliance on third-party service providers; potential unavailability of insurance coverage; the risks and costs related to cyber security attacks, data breaches, protecting our systems and maintaining data integrity and security; uncertainties of a foreign legal system as we are not incorporated in the United States; our ability to obtain sufficient financing or capital to fund our capital expenditures, operations, debt repayments and other financing needs; our expectation and ability to pay a cash dividend on our common stock in the future; changes to our dividend policy; growing anti-tourism sentiments and environmental concerns; changes in U.S. or other countries' foreign travel policy; impact of new or changing legislation and regulations (including environmental regulations) or governmental orders on our business; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, fuel prices and interest rates; further impairments of our goodwill, long-lived assets, equity investments and notes receivable; an inability to source our crew or our provisions and supplies from certain places; our ability to recruit, develop and retain high quality personnel; and pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions.

More information about factors that could affect our operating results is included under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as well as our other filings with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations website at www.rclinvestor.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Adjusted Measures of Financial Performance
This press release includes certain adjusted financial measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which we believe provide useful information to investors as a supplement to our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP.

The presentation of adjusted financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These measures may be different from adjusted measures used by other companies. In addition, these adjusted measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. Adjusted measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our results of operations as do the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures.

A reconciliation to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measure of all adjusted financial measures included in this press release can be found in the tables included at the end of this press release. We have not provided a quantitative reconciliation of the projected non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because preparation of meaningful U.S. GAAP projections would require unreasonable effort. Due to significant uncertainty, we are unable to predict, without unreasonable effort, the future movement of foreign exchange rates, fuel prices and interest rates inclusive of our related hedging programs. In addition, we are unable to determine the future impact of non-core business related gains and losses which may result from strategic initiatives. These items are uncertain and could be material to our results of operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Due to this uncertainty, we do not believe that reconciling information for such projected figures would be meaningful.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

Gross Cruise Costs, Net Cruise Costs and Net Cruise Costs excluding Fuel are calculated as follows (in millions, except APCD and costs per APCD. Certain amounts may not add or calculate due to the use of rounded numbers):

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are calculated as follows (in millions, except APCD and per APCD data. Certain amounts may not add or calculate due to the use of rounded numbers):

Adjusted Net Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and Adjusted Earnings per Share are calculated as follows (in millions, except per share data. Certain amounts may not add or calculate due to the use of rounded numbers):

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SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group