Carnival's Stock Surges After Profit Beat, Raised Outlook

Shares of Carnival Corp. shot up 4.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the cruise operator beat fiscal first-quarter profit expectations and bumped up its full-year outlook. For the quarter ended Feb. 29, earnings rose to $142 million, or 18 cents a share, from $49 million, or 6 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 39 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 31 cents. Revenue rose to $3.65 billion from $3.53 billion, boosted by growth in passenger tickets and onboard sales. The FactSet sales consensus was $3.63 billion. The company expects fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of 34 cents to 38 cents, surrounding the FactSet consensus of 37 cents. The full-year EPS outlook was increased to $3.20 to $3.40 from $3.10 to $3.40. "The lower levels of inventory remaining for sale for the balance of the year, particularly for our peak summer period, positions our brands well for continued revenue yield growth and builds confidence in our full year earnings forecast," Chief Executive Arnold Donald said. The stock has dropped 8.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.5%.