Royal Caribbean Shares Rise On Earnings Beat, Strong Guidance

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. shares rose 1.7% in Thursday premarket trading after the company reported earnings that beat consensus and issued guidance above estimates. Net income was $261.1 million, or $1.21 per share, down from $206.8 million, or 94 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was $1.23, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.21. Revenue for the quarter was $1.91 billion, up from $1.90 billion last year, but missing the $1.96 billion FactSet consensus. Passenger ticket revenue was $1.35 billion, down from $1.37 billion last year. Royal Caribbean expects first-quarter EPS to be about 90 cents, ahead of the 71-cent FactSet estimate, and full-year 2017 EPS in the range of $6.90 to $7.10, above the FactSet consensus of $6.80. "The company's booked position for 2017 is better than last year's record high, and at higher rates," the company said in its release. Royal Caribbean shares are up 25.4% for the last three months, and up 3.7% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 20.7% for the last year.