Norwegian Cruise's Record Bookings Build: Can Pricing Power Hold?

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH is benefiting from a surge in consumer demand that has propelled its booking trends to historic highs. In second-quarter 2025, the company reported record bookings over a three-month stretch. The momentum pushed advanced ticket sales to $4 billion, the highest level on record.

This strength has translated into steady pricing gains. Net yields grew 3.1% year over year in the quarter, with underlying ticket prices up 5.1%. Management emphasized that pricing growth has remained consistent across 2025, running at roughly 4-4.5% each quarter, even as the company balanced occupancy recovery and itinerary adjustments. Importantly, Norwegian Cruise reiterated its principle of not sacrificing price for load factors, reinforcing its focus on long-term brand equity over short-term volume.

The forward-looking setup appears favorable. For third-quarter 2025, management expects net yield growth of 1.5% on top of last year’s 8.7% increase, while projecting occupancy of approximately 105.5%. Looking into 2026, the company remains in an “optimal booked position,” supported by itinerary redeployments toward shorter Caribbean cruises and the halo effect of new destination investments such as Great Stirrup Cay enhancements.

For a business still carrying a net leverage of 5.3x EBITDA, robust demand and pricing discipline are critical levers for sustaining margin expansion and balance sheet repair. With management targeting EPS of $2.45-$2.50 in 2026, nearly triple 2023 levels, NCLH’s record bookings underscore the resilience of the cruise sector’s demand cycle and the company’s ability to capture it.

NCLH’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Norwegian Cruise have gained 29.6% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 7.8%. In the same time frame, other industry players like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL, Carnival Corporation & plc CCL and OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited OSW have gained 10.5%, 16% and 4.3%, respectively.

NCLH Three-Month Price Performance

NCLH stock is currently trading at a discount. It is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.24, well below the industry average of 18.60. Conversely, industry players, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and OneSpaWorld have P/E ratios of 18.63, 13.49 and 19.17, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Norwegian Cruise’s 2025 earnings per share has been revised upward, increasing from $2.04 to $2.06 over the past 30 days. This upward trend indicates strong analyst confidence in the stock’s near-term prospects.

The company is likely to report solid earnings, with projections indicating a 13.2% rise in 2025. Conversely, industry players like Royal Caribbean, Carnival and OneSpaWorld are likely to witness a rise of 32.5%, 42.3% and 18.8%, respectively, year over year in 2025 earnings.

NCLH stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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