Carnival (CCL) is the world’s largest cruise operator, sailing the seven seas and making some money while doing so. Although it faced some rough seas the past few years, it has been benefiting from strong post-pandemic tailwinds around travel demand. With rising bookings and improving financials, Carnival is righting the ship and recovering well, though high debt levels remain a concern.
Buying Carnival shares is a way to gain exposure to the rebound in leisure travel, but you also need to think about what would happen in an economic downturn, or if fuel and other costs start to apply too much cabin pressure - leaving your investments feeling seasick.
March 21, 2025: Carnival celebrated a record-breaking (and guidance-exceeding) first quarter, with revenues coming in at $5.8 billion – a $400 million rise year-on-year. Advance bookings are "in line with the prior year's record levels" and pricing is "at historical highs". CEO Josh Weinstein said that "While we are not completely immune from the heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility since providing our December guidance, we are still taking up our earnings expectations for the year and we remain on track to have another stellar year across our cruise brands".
March 7, 2025: Carnival recently announced significant financial moves, including the pricing of a $1 billion private offering of senior unsecured notes to refinance existing debt at a lower interest rate. Despite these strategic initiatives, Carnival's share price declined by 11% over the past week, according to Simply Wall Street.
February 22, 2025: Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 34,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,000, according to MarketBeat.
February 20, 2025: In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said that President Trump would be cracking down on cruise lines that are based in America but avoid taxes by being registered elsewhere. Royal Caribbean, Norweigian and Carnival are all based in Miami, but they're registered in Liberia, Bermuda and Panama respectively. Lutnik stated: "this is going to end under Donald Trump and those taxes are going to be paid", and markets took the message seriously – with all three stocks tumbling in Thursday trading.
Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs estimated here should be considered as a guide only. They don't factor in spreads, which can be hard to pin down. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing.
Quantity of shares
| Platform | Finder Score | Account fee | Min. initial deposit | Trade cost | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9
Excellent
|
£0 | $100 | £1,343.18 |
Go to siteCapital at risk
|
 |
9.1
Excellent
|
£0 | £1 | £1,343.18 |
Go to siteCapital at risk
|
|
8.8
Great
|
£8 per month | £0 | N/A |
Go to siteCapital at risk
|
|
9.2
Excellent
|
£0 | £0 | £1,343.18 |
Go to siteCapital at risk
|
 |
8.5
Great
|
£0 (0.45% for funds) | £1 | £1,355.13 |
Go to siteCapital at risk
|
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Buying shares in just one company is generally considered a riskier bet than investing in a range of investments - AKA a "diversified portfolio". Experts generally recommend holding a mix of investments in specific assets and funds. Funds are ready-made portfolios of multiple companies' shares (potentially including Carnival), and the idea is that drops in the value of one constituent company's share price might be offset by rises in others.
Carnival is a major part of the London stock exchange, so it's included in many global funds and investment trusts, as well as tracker-style exchange traded funds (ETFs).
ETF |
Icon |
1-year performance (to Apr. '25) |
5-year performance (to Apr. '25) |
Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invesco S&P 500 ETF (SPXP) |  |
N/A | 128.92% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap ETF 1C (XSPX) |  |
N/A | 128.40% | Invest Capital at risk |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF USD (Acc) (CSP1) |  |
N/A | 127.06% | Invest Capital at risk |
| HSBC S&P 500 ETF (HSPX) |  |
N/A | 114.18% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Fund | Icon | 5-year performance (to August 2024) | 1-year performance (to August 2024) | Link to invest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invesco FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (S250) | | 18.99% | 10.17% | Invest with HLCapital at risk |
| HSBC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF GBP (HMCX) | | 3.85% | 6.59% | Invest with XTBCapital at risk |
| iShares FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (MIDD) | | 3.81% | 6.82% | Invest with eToroCapital at risk |
| Vanguard FTSE 250 UCITS ETF Distributing (VMID) |  | 3.47% | 6.98% | Invest with XTBCapital at risk |
| Xtrackers FTSE 250 UCITS ETF 1D (XMCX) | | 1.99% | 5.85% | Invest with XTBCapital at risk |
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Review technicals and fundamentals to help you determine if now's a good time for you to invest.
View Carnival's price performance, share price volatility, historical data and technicals.
Historical closes compared with the last close of 1383.5
| 1 week (2025-03-24) | -6.46% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2025-02-28) | -18.95% |
| 3 months (2024-12-31) | -23.65% |
| 6 months (2024-09-30) | 14.72% |
| 1 year (2024-03-31) | 18.30% |
| 2 years (2023-03-31) | 88.44% |
| 3 years (2022-03-31) | 1.65% |
| 5 years (2020-03-31) | 77.60% |
The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.
Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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