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Carnival Corporation: Booking Surge Continues Into 2026—But Is Yield Normalization a Hidden Risk?

Carnival Corporation & plc reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025, concluding a year marked by record-setting performance across key metrics including revenues, yields, operating income, and EBITDA. The company recorded net income exceeding $3 billion for the full year, representing a 60% increase over 2024 and surpassing initial guidance by more than 30%. This growth was driven by a yield improvement of over 5.5% and effective cost management that limited unit cost increases to 2.6%, despite pressures from higher dry dock expenses, inflation, and costs associated with a new destination, Celebration Key in Grand Bahama. Operating margins and EBITDA margins expanded over 250 basis points year-over-year, supported by an ROIC exceeding 13%, the highest in nearly two decades.