Royal Caribbean Stock Dives. Why Its Earnings Beat Wasn’t Enough.

Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas cruise ship. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

Royal Caribbean stock was dropping Tuesday, even though the cruise line operator beat earnings expectations and raised the floor for its full-year guidance. Investors were probably looking for perfection, with shares up more than 50% in 2025.

Royal Caribbean reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $4.38 a share, as revenue climbed about 10% from a year ago to $4.54 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $4.09 a share on revenue of $4.55 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

The company also tweaked its full-year profit guidance to between $15.41 and $15.55 a share, having previously forecast $14.55 to $15.55 a share. At the midpoint, the new range is in line with the $15.48 a share that Wall Street had been predicting ahead of the release.

Shares dropped 8% to $324.06 in early trading. The S&P 500 was up 0.2%.

Other than revenue coming in a little light, there wasn’t much to take issue with in the report—but some investors may have been taking the opportunity to lock in profits after a stellar recent run for Royal Caribbean stock.

Shares were up 53% for the year as of Monday’s closing bell, surging amid signs that the U.S. economy remains robust. Shares in rival Carnival have gained 19% in 2025, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings stock is down 7.2%.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com