Why Carnival Stock (CCL) Is Sinking—Even as Analysts Pump Post-Earnings Optimism

Carnival's bulls are shouting from the decks—so why is the ship still sinking?

Wall Street's usual suspects slapped 'buy' ratings on CCL after earnings, but the stock defied gravity... downward. Another case of analysts playing catch-up while retail investors drown in red.

The irony? Cruise demand is actually recovering. But between fuel hedges biting back and that pesky $35B debt anchor (thanks, pandemic leverage!), CCL's chart looks more like a lifeboat drill gone wrong.

Pro tip: When sell-side cheerleaders and price action disagree, bet on the tape. The market's pricing what earnings reports won't say—that today's 'beat' was built on tomorrow's borrowed time.

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Diving right into those updates, a handful of analysts have updated their coverage of CCL stock in the last couple of days. That includes:

• A reiterated Buy rating and $33 price target from five-star Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steven Wieczynski, representing a possible 30.69% upside.
• Another reiterated Buy rating from five-star William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia.
• J.P. Morgan analyst Matthew Boss maintained a Buy rating and increased his price target to $34 from $31, suggesting a 34.65% upside.
• Four-star Barclays analyst Brandt Montour kept a Buy rating and raised his price target to $33 from $30, implying a 30.69% upside.

The bullish updates for CCL stock came after the company easily surpassed Wall Street’s estimates in its Q2 2025 earnings report. Its adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents and revenue of $6.33 billion came in well above analysts’ expectations of 24 cents per share and revenue of $6.21 billion.

CCL Stock Movement Today

CCL stock was down 1.32% as of Wednesday morning. However, the company’s shares rallied when its earnings report was released yesterday. While today’s slip reduces its gains, it’s not enough to outweigh that positive movement.

Traders will also note that Carnival stock has performed well in 2025. The company’s shares are up 2.05% year-to-date and have risen 39.9% over the past 12 months.

Is Carnival Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Carnival is Moderate Buy, based on 13 Buy and five Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average CCL stock price target of $29.20, representing a potential 15.1% upside for the shares. This rating and price target may change alongside additional post-earnings analyst updates.