Speaking during the company's Q4 earnings call Friday, Carnival Corp. executives shared a year of records, including $26.6 billion in revenue.
Net income was a record, too, at $3.5 billion. And Carnival Corp. anticipates smashing that mark in 2026, with nearly two-thirds of inventory booked.
Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein called 2025 "a truly phenomenal year," one which ended with the company reinstating its dividend.
Speaking about Q4 alone, net income was up 40% at $422 million from the same period in 2024. Customer deposits reached a record $7.2 billion.
Even amid a challenging year for travel with geopolitical and economic concerns, the company performed at a record rate, which Weinstein said was a testament to company resilience. He credited Carnival Corp.'s banner year to brand and marketing strength.
"We're always trying to figure out how to make the experience onboard meet and exceed expectations of our guests," he said. "We have a tremendously ridiculous price-to-experience ratio gap between what we give to our guests and what you can get in land-based alternatives. That value proposition, I think, is getting clearer and clearer when it comes to how we can market and talk about this."
The CEO also highlighted the company's diversity in portfolio offerings -- the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and elsewhere -- as a strength that enables the company to withstand volatility.
Update on private destinations
The company provided an update on the development of private destinations. Carnival Cruise Line private island Celebration Key opened in July and on Dec. 18 welcomed its 1 millionth guest. Sister line Princess Cruises will begin calling there next November.
Carnival Corp. is doing a major redevelopment of private island RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, with Weinstein saying the island will offer "very distinct and different experiences" for Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line guests. Work is being done in phases and will continue throughout 2026. A pier for Carnival ships is expected to be completed in the summer.
The company will also develop Ensenada Bay Village, its first tourism development outside of the Caribbean.
Proposal to delist Carnival plc
Carnival Corp. and Carnival plc boards of directors recommended unifying them into a single company -- Carnival Corp. -- with Carnival plc as its wholly owned U.K. subsidiary.
Carnival plc shareholders would receive Carnival Corp. shares on a one-for-one basis, while Carnival plc shares would be delisted from the London Stock Exchange, creating a single global share price.
This would simplify the company structure, said CFO David Bernstein.
"We believe it will also increase liquidity for stock trades and increase weighting of the stock in major U.S. stock indices," he said.
Carnival Corp. hopes to complete the unification in Q2, following shareholder meetings in April.