Revenue growth has slowed from 17.7% in 2024Q2 to 3.5% in 2026Q3, while flat SG&A of roughly $763M-$959M per quarter evidences meaningful operating leverage, as each dollar of SG&A supported $4.4 of revenue in 2026Q3 versus $3.2 in 2024Q2.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) annual income statement — 30-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | TTM | Nov'25 | Nov'24 | Nov'23 | Nov'22 | Nov'21 | Nov'20 | Nov'19 | Nov'18 | Nov'17 | Nov'16 | Nov'15 | Nov'14 | Nov'13 | Nov'12 | Nov'11 | Nov'10 | Nov'09 | Nov'08 | Nov'07 | Nov'06 | Nov'05 | Nov'04 | Nov'03 | Nov'02 | Nov'01 | Nov'00 | Nov'99 | Nov'98 | Nov'97 | Nov'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 27.59B | 26.62B | 25.02B | 21.59B | 12.17B | 1.91B | 5.59B | 20.82B | 18.88B | 17.51B | 16.39B | 15.71B | 15.88B | 15.46B | 15.38B | 15.79B | 14.47B | 13.46B | 14.95B | 13.03B | 11.84B | 11.09B | 9.73B | 6.72B | 4.38B | 4.55B | 3.79B | 3.51B | 3.01B | 2.45B | 2.21B |
| Revenue Growth % | 5.2% | 6.4% | 15.88% | 77.44% | 537.79% | -65.89% | -73.14% | 10.3% | 7.82% | 6.84% | 4.3% | -1.07% | 2.77% | 0.48% | -2.6% | 9.15% | 7.5% | -9.95% | 14.69% | 10.09% | 6.72% | 14.05% | 44.79% | 53.27% | -3.65% | 19.99% | 8.04% | 16.61% | 22.96% | 10.62% | 10.73% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 18.15B | 18.74B | 15.64B | 14.32B | 11.76B | 4.66B | 8.24B | 12.91B | 11.09B | 10.5B | 9.38B | 9.45B | 10.42B | 10.64B | 10.32B | 10.3B | 9.09B | 8.41B | 9.34B | 7.63B | 6.79B | 6.22B | 5.46B | 3.82B | 2.33B | 2.48B | 2.81B | 2.49B | 1.62B | 1.32B | 1.24B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 70.38% | 62.5% | 66.3% | 96.61% | 243.97% | 147.39% | 61.99% | 58.73% | 59.97% | 57.25% | 60.12% | 65.61% | 68.87% | 67.09% | 65.21% | 62.84% | 62.46% | 62.49% | 58.53% | 57.36% | 56.05% | 56.1% | 56.83% | 53.16% | 54.56% | 74.07% | 70.93% | 53.81% | 54.04% | 56.1% |
| Gross Profit | 9.44B | 7.88B | 9.38B | 7.28B | 412M | -2.75B | -2.65B | 7.92B | 7.79B | 7.01B | 7.01B | 6.27B | 5.46B | 4.81B | 5.06B | 5.49B | 5.38B | 5.05B | 5.61B | 5.41B | 5.05B | 4.88B | 4.27B | 2.9B | 2.05B | 2.07B | 983M | 1.02B | 1.39B | 1.12B | 971.3M |
| Gross Margin % | 34.22% | 29.62% | 37.5% | 33.7% | 3.39% | -143.97% | -47.39% | 38.01% | 41.27% | 40.03% | 42.75% | 39.88% | 34.39% | 31.13% | 32.91% | 34.79% | 37.16% | 37.54% | 37.51% | 41.47% | 42.64% | 43.95% | 43.9% | 43.17% | 46.84% | 45.44% | 25.93% | 29.07% | 46.19% | 45.96% | 43.9% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -15.96% | 28.96% | 1666.02% | 115% | -3.62% | -133.49% | 1.6% | 11.16% | 0.04% | 11.79% | 14.72% | 13.55% | -4.96% | -7.86% | 2.18% | 6.41% | -9.88% | 3.74% | 7.07% | 3.53% | 14.19% | 47.24% | 41.26% | -0.68% | 110.27% | -3.63% | -26.61% | 23.57% | 15.8% | 12.03% |
| Operating Expenses | 5.03B | 3.4B | 5.81B | 5.32B | 4.79B | 4.34B | 6.21B | 4.64B | 4.47B | 4.2B | 3.94B | 3.69B | 3.69B | 3.48B | 3.42B | 3.24B | 3.03B | 2.9B | 2.88B | 2.68B | 2.44B | 2.24B | 2.1B | 1.52B | 1.02B | 1.18B | 0 | 0 | 493.4M | 410.73M | 373.88M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 12.78% | 23.22% | 24.64% | 39.37% | 227.57% | 111.08% | 22.28% | 23.65% | 23.99% | 24.01% | 23.5% | 23.24% | 22.53% | 22.23% | 20.51% | 20.94% | 21.54% | 19.25% | 20.56% | 20.57% | 20.16% | 21.56% | 22.69% | 23.18% | 25.83% | - | - | 16.4% | 16.78% | 16.9% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 3.58B | 3.4B | 3.25B | 2.95B | 2.52B | 1.89B | 1.88B | 2.48B | 2.45B | 2.27B | 2.2B | 2.07B | 2.05B | 1.88B | 1.72B | 1.72B | 1.61B | 1.59B | 1.63B | 1.58B | 1.45B | 1.33B | 1.28B | 932M | 609M | 619M | 487.4M | 447.2M | 369.47M | 296.53M | 274.86M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 12.78% | 13% | 13.66% | 20.67% | 98.79% | 33.57% | 11.91% | 12.98% | 12.94% | 13.41% | 13.15% | 12.93% | 12.16% | 11.18% | 10.87% | 11.15% | 11.81% | 10.9% | 12.12% | 12.22% | 12.03% | 13.21% | 13.87% | 13.89% | 13.61% | 12.86% | 12.74% | 12.28% | 12.12% | 12.42% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2M | 0 | 2.56B | 2.37B | 2.28B | 2.46B | 4.34B | 2.16B | 2.02B | 1.94B | 1.74B | 1.63B | 1.64B | 1.6B | 1.7B | 1.52B | 1.42B | 1.31B | 1.25B | 1.1B | 988M | 902M | 812M | 592M | 407M | 556M | -487.4M | -447.2M | 123.94M | 114.2M | 99.02M |
| Operating Income | 4.41B | 4.48B | 3.57B | 1.96B | -4.38B | -7.09B | -8.87B | 3.28B | 3.33B | 2.81B | 3.07B | 2.57B | 1.77B | 1.33B | 1.64B | 2.25B | 2.35B | 2.15B | 2.73B | 2.73B | 2.61B | 2.64B | 2.17B | 1.38B | 1.04B | 892M | 983M | 1.02B | 896.52M | 714.07M | 597.43M |
| Operating Margin % | 15.99% | 16.84% | 14.28% | 9.06% | -35.98% | -371.54% | -158.47% | 15.73% | 17.61% | 16.04% | 18.74% | 16.38% | 11.16% | 8.6% | 10.67% | 14.28% | 16.22% | 16% | 18.26% | 20.91% | 22.07% | 23.79% | 22.34% | 20.48% | 23.66% | 19.61% | 25.93% | 29.07% | 29.79% | 29.18% | 27% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 25.43% | 82.72% | 144.67% | 38.23% | 20.03% | -370.6% | -1.47% | 18.37% | -8.53% | 19.31% | 45.26% | 33.33% | -19.06% | -27.18% | -3.92% | 8.96% | -21.07% | 0.15% | 4.29% | -0.99% | 21.45% | 57.92% | 32.69% | 16.26% | -9.26% | -3.63% | 13.77% | 25.55% | 19.52% | 21.91% |
| EBITDA | 7.31B | 7.27B | 6.13B | 4.33B | -2.1B | -4.86B | -6.62B | 5.44B | 5.34B | 4.66B | 4.81B | 4.2B | 3.41B | 2.92B | 3.17B | 3.78B | 3.76B | 3.46B | 3.98B | 3.83B | 3.6B | 3.54B | 2.98B | 1.96B | 1.42B | 1.26B | 1.27B | 1.26B | 1.1B | 881.36M | 742.41M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 26.49% | 27.32% | 24.5% | 20.03% | -17.29% | -254.51% | -118.41% | 26.1% | 28.29% | 26.58% | 29.34% | 26.73% | 21.46% | 18.89% | 20.6% | 23.92% | 26.01% | 25.73% | 26.61% | 29.36% | 30.42% | 31.92% | 30.69% | 29.19% | 32.38% | 27.79% | 33.52% | 36.01% | 36.46% | 36.01% | 33.55% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 3.95% | 18.63% | 41.72% | 305.61% | 56.67% | 26.69% | -221.85% | 1.76% | 14.76% | -3.2% | 14.5% | 23.2% | 16.79% | -7.89% | -16.1% | 0.37% | 8.66% | -12.95% | 3.97% | 6.25% | 1.69% | 18.63% | 52.22% | 38.16% | 12.27% | -0.51% | 0.55% | 15.17% | 24.49% | 18.71% | 20.04% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 2.9B | 2.79B | 2.56B | 2.37B | 2.27B | 2.23B | 2.24B | 2.16B | 2.02B | 1.85B | 1.74B | 1.63B | 1.64B | 1.59B | 1.53B | 1.52B | 1.42B | 1.31B | 1.25B | 1.1B | 988M | 902M | 812M | 585M | 382.34M | 372.22M | 287.67M | 243.66M | 200.67M | 167.29M | 144.99M |
| EBIT | 4.36B | 4.12B | 3.67B | 2B | -4.47B | -7.92B | -9.36B | 3.27B | 3.4B | 2.86B | 3.05B | 2.02B | 1.51B | 1.37B | 1.64B | 2.28B | 2.36B | 2.19B | 2.79B | 2.79B | 2.61B | 2.64B | 2.17B | 6.72B | -1.27B | -1.45B | 983M | 1.02B | 819.79M | 660.98M | 551.46M |
| Net Interest Income | -1.12B | -1.3B | -1.66B | -1.83B | -1.53B | -1.59B | -877M | -183M | -180M | -189M | -217M | -209M | -280M | -308M | -326M | -354M | -366M | -366M | -385M | -300M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 58M | 51M | 93M | 233M | 74M | 12M | 18M | 23M | 14M | 9M | 6M | 8M | 8M | 11M | 10M | 11M | 12M | 14M | 35M | 67M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 1.18B | 1.35B | 1.75B | 2.07B | 1.61B | 1.6B | 895M | 206M | 194M | 198M | 223M | 217M | 288M | 319M | 336M | 365M | 378M | 380M | 420M | 367M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -1.23B | -1.71B | -1.66B | -2.02B | -1.7B | -2.43B | -1.39B | -216M | -118M | -143M | -243M | -775M | -547M | -280M | -340M | -343M | -368M | -348M | -358M | -301M | -295M | -314M | -272M | -153M | -78M | 22M | -16.45M | 10M | -56.81M | -41.79M | -22.08M |
| Pretax Income | 3.18B | 2.77B | 1.92B | -62M | -6.08B | -9.52B | -10.25B | 3.06B | 3.21B | 2.67B | 2.83B | 1.8B | 1.23B | 1.05B | 1.3B | 1.91B | 1.98B | 1.81B | 2.37B | 2.42B | 2.32B | 2.33B | 1.9B | 1.22B | 959M | 914M | 966.55M | 1.03B | 839.72M | 672.28M | 575.35M |
| Pretax Margin % | 11.52% | 10.41% | 7.65% | -0.29% | -49.96% | -499.06% | -183.29% | 14.69% | 16.99% | 15.23% | 17.26% | 11.45% | 7.71% | 6.79% | 8.46% | 12.11% | 13.68% | 13.42% | 15.86% | 18.6% | 19.58% | 20.96% | 19.54% | 18.2% | 21.88% | 20.09% | 25.5% | 29.35% | 27.9% | 27.47% | 26% |
| Income Tax | -2M | 12M | -1M | 13M | 14M | -21M | -17M | 71M | 54M | 60M | 49M | 42M | 9M | -6M | 4M | 0 | 1M | 16M | 47M | 16M | 39M | 72M | 47M | 29M | -57M | -12M | 1.09M | 2.8M | 3.81M | 6.23M | 9.04M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | -0.06% | 0.43% | -0.05% | -20.97% | -0.23% | 0.22% | 0.17% | 2.32% | 1.68% | 2.25% | 1.73% | 2.33% | 0.73% | -0.57% | 0.31% | 0% | 0.05% | 0.89% | 1.98% | 0.66% | 1.68% | 3.1% | 2.47% | 2.37% | -5.94% | -1.31% | 0.11% | 0.27% | 0.45% | 0.93% | 1.57% |
| Net Income | 3.14B | 2.76B | 1.92B | -74M | -6.09B | -9.5B | -10.24B | 2.99B | 3.15B | 2.61B | 2.78B | 1.76B | 1.22B | 1.05B | 1.3B | 1.91B | 1.98B | 1.79B | 2.32B | 2.41B | 2.28B | 2.25B | 1.85B | 1.19B | 1.02B | 926M | 965M | 1.03B | 835.88M | 666.05M | 566.3M |
| Net Margin % | 11.37% | 10.37% | 7.66% | -0.34% | -50.07% | -497.96% | -182.98% | 14.36% | 16.69% | 14.88% | 16.96% | 11.18% | 7.66% | 6.83% | 8.44% | 12.11% | 13.67% | 13.3% | 15.55% | 18.48% | 19.25% | 20.31% | 19.06% | 17.67% | 23.18% | 20.36% | 25.45% | 29.27% | 27.78% | 27.21% | 25.59% |
| Net Income Growth % | 18.74% | 44.05% | 2689.19% | 98.79% | 35.87% | 7.18% | -442.34% | -5.14% | 20.95% | -6.23% | 58.17% | 44.49% | 15.26% | -18.72% | -32.11% | -3.34% | 10.5% | -22.98% | -3.49% | 5.66% | 1.15% | 21.52% | 56.19% | 16.83% | 9.72% | -4.04% | -6.04% | 22.86% | 25.5% | 17.61% | 25.54% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 3.18B | 2.76B | 1.92B | -75M | -6.09B | -9.5B | -10.24B | 2.99B | 3.15B | 2.61B | 2.78B | 1.76B | 1.22B | 1.05B | 1.3B | 1.91B | 1.98B | 1.79B | 2.32B | 2.41B | 2.28B | 2.25B | 1.85B | 1.19B | 1.02B | 926M | 965.46M | 1.03B | 835.9M | 666.05M | 566.3M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 19M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 132.68M | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 2.29 | 2.02 | 1.44 | -0.06 | -5.16 | -8.46 | -13.20 | 4.32 | 4.44 | 3.59 | 3.72 | 2.26 | 1.59 | 1.39 | 1.67 | 2.42 | 2.47 | 2.24 | 2.90 | 2.95 | 2.77 | 2.70 | 2.24 | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.57 | 1.60 | 1.66 | 1.40 | 1.12 | 0.98 |
| EPS Growth % | 23.09% | 40.28% | 2557.34% | 98.86% | 39.01% | 35.91% | -405.56% | -2.7% | 23.68% | -3.49% | 64.6% | 42.14% | 14.39% | -16.77% | -30.99% | -2.02% | 10.27% | -22.76% | -1.69% | 6.5% | 2.59% | 20.54% | 38.27% | -3.57% | 7.01% | -1.88% | -3.61% | 18.57% | 25% | 14.29% | 22.5% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 2.10 | 1.50 | -0.06 | -5.16 | -8.46 | -13.20 | 4.34 | 4.45 | 3.61 | 3.73 | 2.26 | 1.59 | 1.39 | 1.67 | 2.43 | 2.51 | 2.27 | 2.96 | 3.04 | 2.85 | 2.80 | 2.31 | 1.65 | 1.72 | 1.58 | 1.61 | 1.68 | 1.40 | 1.12 | 0.48 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 1.37B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.26B | 1.18B | 1.12B | 775M | 692M | 710M | 725M | 747M | 779M | 778M | 777M | 779M | 789M | 805M | 804M | 816M | 828M | 822.74M | 834.44M | 827.68M | 732.72M | 604.76M | 589.81M | 603.13M | 618.67M | 597.06M | 580M | 580M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 1.36B | 1.31B | 1.27B | 1.26B | 1.18B | 1.12B | 775M | 690M | 709M | 723M | 745M | 777M | 776M | 775M | 778M | 787M | 788M | 787M | 786M | 793M | 799.65M | 804.64M | 802.6M | 719.39M | 590.7M | 586.08M | 599.38M | 611.31M | 597.06M | 597.35M | 1.19B |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 46.39% | 42.99% | 41.71% | 35.16% | 46.44% | 63.82% | 110.33% | 60.02% | 35.09% | 11.98% | 17.54% | 54.26% | 41.11% | 35.23% | 25.12% | 21.57% | 24.6% | 24.21% | 26.57% | 26.36% | 21.34% | 21.35% | 19.59% | 18.34% |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CCL stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) reported total revenue of $26.62B. This represents a 1103.2% increase compared to $2.21B in 1996.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) is profitable, generating $2.76B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 10.4%.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) reported an operating income of $4.48B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 16.8%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) generated $7.88B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 29.6%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Decelerating top-line growth vs. peak
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Growth Decelerates Toward Mid-Single Digits
Carnival's year-over-year revenue growth has slowed from 17.7% in 2024Q2 to just 3.5% in 2026Q3, a sharp deceleration that suggests much of the post-pandemic capacity-redeployment tailwind is now behind the business, per the company's reported quarterly statements.
The sequential moderation in growth rates appears to reflect an easier prior-year comparison base normalizing rather than demand collapse, since absolute revenue still set a record at $8.4B in 2026Q3 versus $8.2B a year earlier. Still, investors should note that each successive peak quarter has shown a lower growth print (15.2% in 2024Q3, 3.3% in 2025Q3, 3.5% in 2026Q3), which implies pricing power rather than volume expansion is carrying the top line.
Seasonality Masks Peak-Quarter Pricing Power
As reported in Carnival's income statements, gross margin swings dramatically by season, ranging from 45-46% in peak Q3 quarters to 25.7% in 2026Q2, indicating that the business's structural profitability is heavily concentrated in a single high-demand quarter.
Peak-quarter gross margins have held remarkably steady at 45.1-46.2% across 2024Q3 through 2026Q3, suggesting pricing discipline rather than cyclical margin expansion is at work. However, the Q2 trough margin compressed from 38.6% in 2025Q2 to 25.7% in 2026Q2, a gap that warrants further investigation as it may indicate fuel, port, or onboard-cost pressure bleeding into the off-peak season.
Overhead Fixedness Amplifies Peak Profits
Carnival's SG&A has remained broadly flat between $763M and $959M over ten quarters while revenue grew, meaning that per dollar of SG&A, the company generated roughly $4.4 of revenue in 2026Q3 versus $3.2 in 2024Q2, evidencing material operating leverage.
Because R&D is nil and SG&A is the only meaningful discretionary line, essentially the entire swing from trough to peak operating income (from $543M in 2025Q1 to $2.3B in 2025Q3) falls to incremental contribution margin. This fixed-cost structure means that any deterioration in peak-quarter booking demand would compress operating income far more than revenue, a asymmetry investors should watch closely.
Seasonal Losses Test Earnings Consistency
Carnival reported a net loss of $78M in 2025Q1 before swinging to $1.9B of net income in 2025Q3, illustrating that reported EPS is dominated by seasonal timing rather than steady profitability, with dilutive EPS growth of 122.6% in 2024Q2 largely reflecting the low base.
Stock-based compensation has grown from $15M in 2024Q2 to $28M in 2026Q1, but remains immaterial at roughly 1% of revenue, so earnings quality is not meaningfully eroded by equity issuance on a GAAP basis. The volatility in reported net margin (from -1.3% to 22.8% within a single fiscal year) suggests quarterly EPS comparisons should be discounted, and full-year normalization is the more informative lens for valuation.
Peak-Quarter Dependency Is a Structural Vulnerability
The bear case centers on the fact that Carnival's 2026Q3 operating income of $2.2B represents a dominant share of the full year, meaning any disruption to a single summer season could disproportionately damage annual earnings rather than merely denting it.
With revenue growth decelerating to 3.5% while SG&A crept up to $834M in the peak quarter versus $779M a year prior, the operating-leverage story may have limited remaining room if top-line momentum stalls. Additionally, the Q2 gross margin compression to 25.7% from 38.6% a year earlier is the most concerning single datapoint, as it suggests cost inflation could erode peak-quarter profitability before pricing gains can offset it.