Royal Caribbean Cruises Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYS: RCL) reported earnings on Feb. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Royal Caribbean Cruises met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share dropped.

Gross margins improved, operating margins contracted, and net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Royal Caribbean Cruises reported revenue of $1.78 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $1.79 billion. Sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.60 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.17. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.14 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q4 were 11% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.19 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 45.7%, 1,470 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.0%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.76 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $7.75 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.89.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 403 members out of 490 rating the stock outperform, and 87 members rating it underperform. Among 159 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 141 give Royal Caribbean Cruises a green thumbs-up, and 18 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Royal Caribbean Cruises is outperform, with an average price target of $37.95.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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