There’s another excuse to be bullish on Royal Caribbean , in line with several Wall Street analysts. The cruise line held an investor meeting on its newest mega ship, Icon of the Seas, over the weekend and the response was positive. The vessel officially debuts Jan. 27. Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo called Icon of the Seas a “record-busting spectacle of superlatives,” and believes it should be an enormous driver of profits. Icon of the Seas boasts 40 restaurants and bars, six water slides, seven pools, an ice skating rink and a neighborhood designed for families with young children. The corporate has also added a latest adults-only land-based destination, Hideaway Beach, that has an infinity pool, bar, restaurants and cabanas. Rollo’s channel checks initially suggested Icon of the Seas would command a 40% ticket price premium to the remaining of the Royal Caribbean brand, but that’s now exceeding 100%. That means a 50% yield premium to the broader Royal Caribbean fleet, Rollo wrote in a note Monday. He can also be estimating the large ship is 10% more cost efficient. “This suggests Icon is generating ~$220 EBITDA/APCD, over double the group average (nearly triple on the operating income line),” said Rollo, referring to available passenger cruise days (APCD), a measurement of capability within the cruise industry. Morgan Stanley has an equal weight rating on Royal Caribbean. “That is $0.5bn EBITDA in a full yr, over 10% to group EBITDA, over double the ship’s capability share, and singly driving just over half consensus expectations for profit growth in FY24,” the analyst wrote. RCL 1Y mountain Royal Caribbean’s one-year performance It is usually one other step by Royal Caribbean to tap into the continuing trend of multigenerational travel. “RCL seems to have spent an important deal of time understanding how couples, children, teens, families, and ultimately multi-generational families look to enjoy their vacations, each individually and together, and the Icon is one of the best embodiment of those learnings that we have now seen up to now,” Citi analyst James Hardiman said in a note Monday. He has a buy rating on the stock and a $148 price goal, which suggests nearly 17% upside from Monday’s close. Meanwhile, JPMorgan believes Royal Caribbean is well-positioned to profit on a macroeconomic level from rising demand for cruise travel and, on a microeconomic view, from steps it’s taken so as to add latest land-based attractions to its megaships and personal islands. “Importantly, mgmt. stays focused on continuing to grow its brands in each of the shopper segments (= multi-generational travel) and investing in land-based destinations,” analyst Matthew Boss wrote in a note Monday. He has an obese rating on the stock and a price goal of $143, implying about 13% upside from Monday’s close. UBS analyst Robin Farley said Icon surpasses the capability and amenities and onboard revenue opportunities of any of Royal Caribbean’s previous ships. “Their research shows that families will pull children out of faculty through the 4th grade, so RCL goals to reinforce the shoulder periods between school holidays,” she noted. Meanwhile, its latest Hideaway Beach added 30% more capability to Royal Caribbean’s private island investment, which has been a big driver of the cruise lines’ ticket price and onboard spending, she identified. “RCL will concentrate on developing the Royal Beach Club within the Bahamas, but we consider that growing its brands shall be a priority, furthering our expectation that RCL may announce a latest ship order in some unspecified time in the future this yr,” said Farley, who has a buy rating and $140 price goal on the stock. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
American Airlines hires industry veteran to steer industrial team
An American Airlines plane lands on the Miami International Airport on July 24, 2025 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle |...
