By Callum Keown

Royal Caribbean beat earnings estimates in the second quarter and hiked its full-year earnings guidance but the stock was falling ahead of the open Tuesday.

The cruise operator reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.21, ahead of analysts' expectations of $3.98. The beat was driven by strong close-in, or last-minute, demand and lower costs, the company said.

Royal Caribbean raised its full-year EPS guidance to between $17.73 and $17.87, up from a range of $17.10 to $17.50. The hike was down to better-than-expected performance in the second quarter and improved outlook for the rest of the year.

But the stock was pointing 1.2% lower at $301.40 in premarket trading. It's not a disaster -- the shares have jumped 7.6% in the past two trading days as oil prices fell sharply.

The stock's recent run may be one reason behind the reaction -- the shares have jumped 19% over the past three months, through Monday.

Another is that the company cut its full-year revenue outlook, now expecting a 9% jump down from previous guidance of 10%.

Also, once the 23 cents-per-share earnings beat is factored in, the full-year hike of 50 cents per share doesn't seem like all that much improvement over the second half.

With a 20% recent rally, investors may have been expecting more.

The sector has been at the whim of oil prices for much of the year and as a result has had a challenging 2026. Royal Caribbean is up more than 9% this year through Monday's close but its biggest rivals Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line are down around 10%.

Norwegian is set to report earnings on Thursday, with Carnival expected to report in the fall.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 28, 2026 09:19 ET (13:19 GMT)