: Royal Caribbean stock rallies after earnings beat and raised outlook, as demand for experiences accelerates

Shares of Royal Caribbean Group RCL rallied 2.2% in premarket trading Thursday, after the cruise ship operator beat profit and sales forecasts and raised its full-year outlook, as demand for consumer spending on experiences has been accelerating. Net income jumped to $1.01 billion, or $3.65 a share, from $33.0 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $3.85 beat the FactSet consensus of $3.46. Revenue climbed 39% to $4.16 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.08 billion, as passenger ticket revenue jumped 45.5% to $2.94 billion and onboard and other revenue increased 25.4% to $1.22 billion. For 2023, the company raised its adjusted EPS guidance range to $6.58 to $6.63 from $6.00 to $6.20. “The strength of our brands and the acceleration of consumer spending on experiences have propelled us towards another outstanding quarter and a robust 2023,” said Chief Executive Jason Liberty. “Looking ahead, we see accelerating demand as we build the business for 2024.” The stock has tumbled 18.5% over the past three months through Wednesday while the S&P 500 SPX has lost 8.3%.

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