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Citigroup's James Hardiman lowered their price target on Carnival (NYSE: CCL) by 10.3% from $39 to $35 on 2026/03/30. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

Carnival reported its Q1 2026 earnings.

Cutting their price target, Hardiman focused on management lowering its FY 2026 guidance "even as it raised its operational outlook," rather than on the quarter's "record" adjusted EBITDA.

Overall, the analyst called the print "very strong on an ex-fuel basis."

Hardiman argued that last week's selloff was "much more a function of a broader market selloff and rising fuel costs than anything specific" to Carnival's Q1 results or guidance."

Earnings Report

For Q1 2026, Carnival reported:

• EPS of $0.20, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.18 and Q1 2025's $0.13.
• Revenue of $6.17B, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.11B and Q1 2025's $5.81B.

Management guided:

For Q2 2026:

• EPS of $0.34.

For FY 2026:

• EPS of $2.21, down from the prior $2.48.

CEO Josh Weinstein commented: “We delivered a strong start to the year, with record first-quarter operating results that exceeded our guidance, driven by healthy fundamentals and solid execution across the business.

"This performance supported an increase to our full-year operational outlook of nearly $150 million, helping to mitigate the impact of higher fuel prices.

“We remain on track to deliver solid yield growth, continued cost discipline, and $7 billion in adjusted EBITDA this year, underscoring the strength of demand across our portfolio, progress on our long-term strategy, and the advancements we have made positioning the business to perform across a range of environments.

“With this strong foundation in place, we are focused on the next chapter of value creation for Carnival.

"Today, we are introducing PROPEL: Powering Growth and Returns, Responsibly — our new set of long-term targets.

"At its core, PROPEL is about converting strong demand into higher returns, earnings growth, and cash flow while maintaining disciplined capacity growth and a strong balance sheet.”