Free cash flow remains volatile with a 2026Q1 margin of 11.3%, as capital expenditures continue to consume 9.2% of quarterly revenue to maintain fleet standards.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 6.56B | 6.22B | 5.92B | 4.28B | -1.67B | -4.11B | -6.3B | 5.47B | 5.55B | 5.32B | 5.13B | 4.54B | 3.43B | 2.83B | 3B | 3.77B | 3.82B | 3.34B | 3.39B | 4.07B | 3.63B | 3.41B | 3.22B | 1.93B | 1.47B | 1.24B | 1.28B | 1.33B | 1.09B | 877.58M | 741.52M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 23.36% | 23.67% | 19.83% | -13.72% | -215.36% | -112.64% | 26.29% | 29.39% | 30.39% | 31.33% | 28.92% | 21.59% | 18.34% | 19.5% | 23.85% | 26.39% | 24.83% | 22.69% | 31.22% | 30.69% | 30.74% | 33.06% | 28.77% | 33.52% | 27.24% | 33.75% | 37.89% | 36.28% | 35.86% | 33.51% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 135.25% | 4.98% | 38.36% | 356.35% | 59.36% | 34.79% | -215.09% | -1.33% | 4.27% | 3.66% | 12.96% | 32.51% | 21.03% | -5.5% | -20.37% | -1.36% | 14.24% | -1.44% | -16.66% | 12% | 6.54% | 6.03% | 66.37% | 31.58% | 18.57% | -3.17% | -3.77% | 21.79% | 24.41% | 18.35% | 26.28% |
| Net Income | 3.1B | 2.76B | 1.92B | -74M | -6.09B | -9.5B | -10.24B | 2.99B | 3.15B | 2.61B | 2.78B | 1.76B | 1.24B | 1.08B | 1.3B | 1.91B | 1.98B | 1.79B | 2.33B | 2.41B | 2.28B | 2.26B | 1.85B | 1.19B | 1.02B | 926.2M | 965.46M | 1.03B | 835.88M | 666.05M | 566.3M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.83B | 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 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 80M | 98M | 62M | 53M | 101M | 121M | 105M | 46M | 65M | 63M | 55M | 55M | 52M | 42M | 39M | 46M | 43M | 50M | 50M | 64M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.63B | 4.61B | 26M | -43M | 357M | 45M | 568M | 273M | 154M | 180M | -1.91B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 546.58M | 715M | 428M | 407M | 884M | 449M | 170M | 41M | -6M | 51M | 73M | 40M | 35M | 35M | 61M | 1.96B | -15M | 37M | -37M | 26M | 87M | 57M | 37M | 28M | 162.93M | 101.79M | -8.1M | 80.13M | -60.38M | -64.92M | -31.69M |
| Working Capital Changes | -5M | -145M | 960M | 1.52B | 1.16B | 958M | -3.19B | 212M | 364M | 399M | 444M | 499M | 199M | -63M | -106M | 238M | 396M | 156M | -201M | 470M | 279M | 194M | 513M | 126M | -92.18M | -161.28M | 34.51M | -21.31M | 115.67M | 109.16M | 61.93M |
| Change in Receivables | -100M | -84M | -49M | -180M | -171M | -476M | -395M | -368M | -58M | 6M | -22M | 4M | 75M | -128M | -15M | 0 | 106M | 0 | 0 | -94M | 93M | -56M | 9M | -72M | -5.45M | -7.13M | -15.13M | -3.3M | 100K | -21.2M | -4.4M |
| Change in Inventory | 16M | 2M | 9M | -85M | -95M | -63M | 77M | 79M | -67M | -49M | 1M | 5M | 1M | 19M | -16M | -54M | -12M | 10M | -8M | -57M | -5M | -15M | -73M | -17M | 1.67M | 8.46M | -8.21M | -8.57M | -3.91M | -1.69M | -4.46M |
| Change in Payables | 59M | 61M | -26M | 77M | 283M | 206M | -165M | 34M | -24M | 21M | 109M | 36M | 9M | 79M | -24M | 67M | -36M | 74M | -66M | 86M | -42M | 66M | -22M | 34M | -12.01M | -63.23M | 58.13M | 27.3M | 18.8M | 22M | -5.5M |
| Cash from Investing | -3.31B | -3.32B | -4.54B | -2.81B | -4.77B | -3.54B | -3.24B | -5.28B | -3.51B | -3.09B | -3.32B | -2.48B | -2.51B | -2.06B | -1.77B | -2.65B | -3.5B | -3.38B | -3.25B | -3.75B | -2.44B | -1.97B | -3.09B | -2.33B | -2.02B | -341.92M | -1.29B | -910.38M | -1.32B | -454.9M | -819.23M |
| Capital Expenditures | -3.57B | -3.61B | -4.63B | -3.28B | -4.94B | -3.61B | -3.62B | -5.43B | -3.75B | -2.94B | -3.06B | -2.29B | -2.58B | -2.15B | -2.33B | -2.7B | -3.58B | -3.38B | -3.35B | -3.31B | -2.48B | -1.98B | -3.59B | -2.52B | -1.99B | -826.57M | -1.05B | -872.98M | -1.15B | -497.66M | -901.9M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 13.23% | 13.56% | 18.49% | 15.21% | 40.59% | 189.05% | 64.71% | 26.07% | 19.86% | 16.81% | 18.68% | 14.6% | 16.26% | 13.9% | 15.16% | 17.07% | 24.74% | 25.11% | 22.43% | 25.41% | 20.95% | 17.82% | 36.87% | 37.45% | 45.32% | 18.17% | 27.82% | 24.88% | 38.23% | 20.33% | 40.76% |
| Acquisitions | 11M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1M | -90M | -81M | 26M | -135M | 0 | 26M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -33M | 0 | -339M | 46M | 0 | 77M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -383.64M | -54.72M | -242.87M | 17.04M | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 246M | 290M | 91M | 474M | -26M | 351M | 127M | 158M | 428M | 58M | 30M | 35M | 76M | 93M | 560M | 50M | 78M | 31M | 91M | -75M | 3M | -1M | -24M | 141M | -35.78M | -46.57M | 146.31M | 30.57M | 68.18M | 61.34M | 44.97M |
| Cash from Financing | -2.67B | -2.19B | -2.58B | -5.09B | 3.58B | 6.95B | 18.65B | -655M | -1.46B | -2.45B | -2.59B | -942M | -1.03B | -780M | -1.19B | -1.09B | -404M | -93M | -315M | -604M | -1.21B | -892M | -79M | 826M | -198.37M | 337.15M | -320M | -34.85M | 226.5M | -394.32M | 135.97M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -2.38B | -1.93B | -2.34B | -4.9B | 2.54B | 6.79B | 16.25B | 1.42B | 1.4B | -789M | 711M | 170M | -223M | 479M | -330M | 4M | -192M | 155M | 1.04B | 668M | 365M | -2M | 183M | 1.08B | 42M | 603M | 631.66M | -557M | 397.81M | -269.02M | 236.12M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5M | 1.18B | 1.01B | 3.24B | -599M | -1.47B | -552M | -2.3B | -269M | 0 | -103M | -90M | -454M | 21M | 8M | -83M | -326M | -775M | -323M | 142M | 53M | 7M | 5M | -697.33M | 741.6M | 11.4M | 5.16M | 3.73M |
| Dividends Paid | -208M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -689M | -1.39B | -1.35B | -1.09B | -977M | -816M | -776M | -1.16B | -779M | -671M | -237M | -314M | -1.26B | -990M | -803M | -566M | -400M | -292M | -246.32M | -245.84M | -254.33M | -219.18M | -178.46M | -130.46M | -103.88M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | -20M | -87M | -188M | -12M | -603M | -1.47B | -552M | -2.34B | -533M | 0 | -138M | -90M | -454M | -524M | -188M | -83M | -326M | -841M | -386M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -705.14M | -25K | -1K | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -76M | -261M | -243M | -195M | -147M | -853M | -149M | -87M | -43M | -24M | -25M | -27M | -29M | 8M | 9M | 28M | 4M | 58M | -13M | 44M | 1M | -1M | -4M | -15M | -1.36M | -25M | 0 | -267K | -4.25M | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 630M | 727M | -1.2B | -3.6B | -2.94B | -716M | 9.16B | -466M | 574M | -208M | -792M | 1.06B | -131M | -3M | 15M | 21M | -109M | -112M | -293M | -220M | -15M | 535M | 33M | 403M | -754.6M | 1.23B | -332.49M | 384.5M | -2.72M | 28.36M | 58.26M |
| Free Cash Flow | 2.99B | 2.61B | 1.3B | 997M | -6.61B | -7.72B | -9.92B | 46M | 1.8B | 2.38B | 2.07B | 2.25B | 847M | 685M | 667M | 1.07B | 239M | -38M | 38M | 757M | 1.15B | 1.43B | -370M | -583M | -517.45M | 412.37M | 224.84M | 456.74M | -58.57M | 379.92M | -160.38M |
| FCF Margin % | 11.07% | 9.79% | 5.18% | 4.62% | -54.32% | -404.4% | -177.35% | 0.22% | 9.53% | 13.58% | 12.64% | 14.32% | 5.33% | 4.43% | 4.34% | 6.78% | 1.65% | -0.28% | 0.25% | 5.81% | 9.74% | 12.92% | -3.8% | -8.68% | -11.81% | 9.06% | 5.93% | 13.02% | -1.95% | 15.52% | -7.25% |
| FCF Growth % | 50.43% | 101% | 30.09% | 115.08% | 14.33% | 22.23% | -21667.39% | -97.44% | -24.31% | 14.77% | -7.95% | 165.76% | 23.65% | 2.7% | -37.66% | 347.7% | 728.95% | -200% | -94.98% | -34.35% | -19.54% | 487.3% | 36.54% | -12.67% | -225.48% | 83.41% | -50.77% | 879.78% | -115.42% | 336.89% | -255.25% |
| FCF per Share | 2.15 | 1.86 | 0.93 | 0.79 | -5.60 | -6.87 | -12.80 | 0.07 | 2.54 | 3.28 | 2.77 | 2.89 | 1.09 | 0.88 | 0.86 | 1.36 | 0.30 | -0.05 | 0.05 | 0.91 | 1.40 | 1.72 | -0.45 | -0.80 | -0.86 | 0.70 | 0.37 | 0.74 | -0.10 | 0.66 | -0.28 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.96x | 2.25x | 3.09x | -57.85x | 0.27x | 0.43x | 0.62x | 1.83x | 1.76x | 2.04x | 1.85x | 2.59x | 2.82x | 2.69x | 2.31x | 1.97x | 1.93x | 1.87x | 1.46x | 1.69x | 1.59x | 1.51x | 1.73x | 1.63x | 1.45x | 1.34x | 1.33x | 1.29x | 1.31x | 1.32x | 1.31x |
| Interest Paid | 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 |
| Taxes Paid | 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 |
High Debt Refinancing Exposure
As reported in recent financial filings, Carnival's operating cash flow to net income ratio has fluctuated wildly, reaching 4.90 in 2026Q1, which suggests that reported net income significantly understates the actual cash-generating capacity of the underlying cruise operations due to heavy non-cash depreciation charges.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow indicates that accounting earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash items, primarily the massive depreciation of the aging fleet. Investors should monitor whether this cash-generative ability can be sustained as the company shifts from recovery-mode to a more normalized capital expenditure cycle.
Based on the provided cash flow data, Carnival's free cash flow margin has been inconsistent, ranging from a negative 6.8% in 2024Q1 to a peak of 24.4% in 2025Q2, highlighting the sensitivity of cash generation to seasonal booking cycles and periodic heavy capital investment requirements.
The erratic nature of free cash flow suggests that the company remains in a capital-intensive phase where cash generation is frequently absorbed by fleet maintenance and modernization. This volatility complicates the path to meaningful debt reduction, as cash surpluses are not yet consistently available to address the balance sheet strain.
According to the latest quarterly cash flow statements, Carnival's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue reached 9.2% in 2026Q1, reflecting the ongoing necessity of significant reinvestment to maintain fleet standards and comply with tightening global maritime environmental regulations across its diverse brand portfolio.
The high level of capital intensity suggests that the company is locked into a cycle of continuous reinvestment, which limits the amount of free cash flow available for debt service or shareholder returns. Analysts should investigate whether these expenditures are primarily for maintenance or if they represent growth-oriented investments in more fuel-efficient, LNG-powered vessels.
As indicated by the quarterly cash flow statements, Carnival experienced a working capital inflow of $121 million in 2026Q1, a trend that appears heavily influenced by the timing of customer deposits which serve as a critical, non-interest-bearing source of liquidity for the company's operations.
The significant swings in working capital, such as the $1.4 billion outflow in 2025Q3, suggest that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the seasonality of cruise bookings. This reliance on customer deposits as a working capital buffer warrants further investigation into the sustainability of booking momentum in a potentially cooling consumer environment.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CUK stock.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CUK) generated $6.22B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CUK) generated $2.61B in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CUK) spent $3.61B on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.