Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL shares were climbing in early trading on Wednesday after the company announced upbeat fourth-quarter earnings.

The company reported its quarterly results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

Goldman Sachs On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Analyst Lizzie Dove maintained a Buy rating while raising the price target from $270 to $305.

Royal Caribbean Cruises reported "impressive" quarterly results, leaving "simply nothing for us to pick at," Dove said in a note. Management raised their earnings guidance from $14 per share to $14.35-$14.65 per share, which translates to more than $15 per share excluding 65 cents of fuel and forex headwind, she added.

At the upcoming Investor Day, the company is likely to "paint a compelling long-term strategy to take a bigger piece of the vacation ecosystem, with CocoCay Mexico, new beach clubs, Celebrity River Cruise and new ships all key pieces of the puzzle," the analyst wrote.

Capital results from river vessels could "begin more meaningfully in 2026 once we get past the high watermark of $5 billion in capex in 2025," she further stated.

Stifel On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Analyst Steven Wieczynski reaffirmed a Buy rating and price target of $310.

Royal Caribbean Cruises raised its guidance for the first quarter but "guided to a very beatable range" for the full year, Wieczynski said. The company may raise its full-year 2025 yield guidance before the end of March, "given how well Wave Season should continue to progress," he added.

While the company's decision to enter the river cruise market is "interesting," the attention this move is receiving seems "too much" based on the "eventual size of the opportunity," the analyst wrote. If the current demand and spend rates remains the same, Royal Caribbean Cruises could generate earnings of around $25 per share "sometime in the late-2027 timeframe," she further stated.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

JPMorgan On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Analyst Matthew Boss reiterated an Overweight rating and price target of $295.

Royal Caribbean Cruises reported its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings at $1.63 per share, beating the consensus of $1.49 per share, Boss said. For the full year, the company's adjusted EBITDA and margins were almost in-line with pre-covid levels, he added.

Management raised the earnings guidance to $14.35-$14.65 per share, versus the Street's $14.44 expectation, the analyst stated. "While RCL's initial guide for 2025 EPS at the midpoint is set +0.5% above the Street, we see opportunity for another beat/raise setup throughout the year," he further wrote.

Truist Securities On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Analyst Patrick Scholes reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $272.

Royal Caribbean Cruises plans to enter the river cruise market in 2027 with 10 ships in their new Celebrity River Cruise brand, Scholes said. He added, however, that the river cruise sector is dominated by Viking Holdings Ltd VIK.

While Royal Caribbean Cruises will enter the market with 10 ships, Viking has more than 90, the analyst stated. There is unlikely to be direct competition, given "likely different price points," as Viking is considered a luxury brand and Celebrity is a "contemporary/upper-mass market" brand, he further wrote.

RCL Price Action: Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises had risen by 0.60% to $266.76 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

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Photo: Courtesy Royal Caribbean