Carnival Corporation Soaring On Earnings Beat

Carnival Corporation CCL shares are soaring today, gaining more than 4% after the company reported quarterly earnings this morning, and updated its guidance for the rest of the year. The company reported second quarter earnings of 26 cents per share on $3.6 billion in revenues, as fuel costs hit earnings. This was better than what Wall Street was looking for, 23 cents per share on $3.52 billion in revenues. Despite the earnings beat, the Miami-based company cut full year earnings guidance below where Wall Street had been expecting, mainly on fuel costs and unrest throughout the world, as well as the Japanese earthquake. The company now expects full year earnings of $2.40 to $2.50 per share, down from the $2.55 and $2.65 per share it previously expected. Next quarter, Carnival said it expects earnings of $1.60 to $1.64 per share. Wall Street analysts expect full year earnings of $2.54 per share and third-quarter earnings of $1.74 per share. Commenting on the second quarter, Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman and CEO Micky Arison said, "Our North America brands' revenue yields increased 3 percent in the second quarter while yields for our Europe, Australia and Asia brands were up slightly (constant dollars), having been affected by the geo-political events which unfolded in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan. The revenue yield improvement was more than offset by higher fuel prices which cost the company approximately $150 million, or $0.19 per share." At last check, shares were trading up $1.54 to $37.27, a gain of 4.3% on more than 4 million shares, which is well above the average daily volume in the name.