Cruise Lines Among S&P 500's Top October Performers: Can Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Earnings Sustain The Momentum?

The U.S. cruise industry is riding high as shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH), and Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) rank among the S&P 500’s top 15 performers in October.

As Royal Caribbean and Norwegian prepare to report earnings this week, investors are watching closely to see if strong booking trends and earnings beats can sustain the sector's momentum.

Strong October Performance For Cruise Stocks

Cruise line stocks have surged this month, benefitting from upward earnings revisions and renewed optimism around travel demand. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian shares have risen 14.5% and 16.3% month-to-date, respectively, while Carnival is up 18.6%.

Royal Caribbean is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 29 before the market opens, while Norwegian will release its results on Oct. 31, also ahead of the market open.

Name

Price Chg. % (MTD)

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

34.48%

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF)

21.04%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)

20.95%

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

20.04%

Carnival Corporation & plc

18.59%

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)

17.85%

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

16.41%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd

16.31%

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

15.97%

Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE: