How to buy Carnival (CCL) shares in Australia

Everything you need to know about Carnival cruise stock including how to invest and financial information.

Carnival Corp is listed on the NYSE, so you can buy Carnival shares from Australia if you sign up to a share trading platform with access to US markets. Check out the detailed steps below on how to buy or read up on Carnival's financial data, its technical analysis reading and find related ETFs.

About Carnival Corp

Carnival Corporation is a leisure travel company with cruise ships under brand names like Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and the Holland America Line. The company is also involved in hotel, lodges and coach operations around the world. After the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Carnival shares dropped over 70%, but they have seen steady growth in value since.

How to buy shares in Carnival

  1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a company listed in the US from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. Look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
  2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, which will typically include your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
  3. Search for Carnival. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: CCL. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment that matches your financial goals.
  4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Carnival reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying using consistent intervals and amounts.
  5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$26.11, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Carnival, depending on your broker.
  6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Carnival. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights.

Our top picks for where to buy Carnival shares

Alternative ways to invest in Carnival stock

Another way to invest in Carnival Corp is to invest in an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds CCL stock.

ETFs are funds that hold multiple company stocks. So when you invest in exchange traded funds (ETF) or index funds, you expose yourself to a variety of companies and industries.

The good news is that Carnival Corp is listed on the NYSE and sits on the S&P500 index, so it's included in many global funds including ETFs.

ETFs with Carnival Corp exposure

As a major listed company in the US, Carnival is featured on many US-market ETFs in Australia. Here are some ETFs we found that offer Carnival shares on their portfolios:

  • iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
  • BetaShares S&P 500 Equal Weight (QUS.AU)
  • ANZ S&P 500 High Yield Low Volatility (ZYUS.AU)
  • SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (SPY.AU)
  • iShares S&P 500 AUD Hedged (IHVV.AU)
  • iShares Core S&P 500 AUD (IVV.AU)

Latest news 2024

  • In February 2024 Carnival was named the 13th most valuable travel company in the world by Insider Monkey
  • Carnival stock surged 130% over the course of 2023 according to S&P Global Market Intelligence
  • JP Morgan has upgraded Carnival shares to "overweight" and Bank of America added a "Buy" rating.
  • On May 25, Citigroup upgraded Carnival from a 'Neutral' rating to a 'Buy' and increased its target price from $10 to $14.

Have Carnival's shares ever split?

Carnival's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 14 June 1998. So if you had owned 1 share the day before the split, the next day you would own 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Carnival shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Carnival shares which in turn could have impacted Carnival's share price.

Carnival share growth calculator

US$

Use the fields above to explore the returns from a historical investment. Please refer to the charts further up this page to see performance over 5 years, or other periods. Past performance doesn't indicate future results. Capital is at risk.

Carnival price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $26.11

1 week (2024-11-27) 3.86%
1 month (2024-11-04) 19.17%
3 months (2024-09-04) 61.67%
6 months (2024-06-04) 54.13%
1 year (2023-12-04) 59.69%
2 years (2022-12-02) 161.10%
3 years (2021-12-03) 51.80%
5 years (2019-12-04) -40.50%

Compare trading platforms to buy Carnival shares

Name Product AUFST Standard brokerage for US shares Currency conversion fee Asset class
eToro
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US$2
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Tiger Brokers
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US$1.99
55 pips
ASX shares, Global shares, Options trading, US shares, ETFs
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Trade US, Asian and CHESS-sponsored ASX stocks and US options.
CMC Invest
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US$0
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$0 brokerage on US, UK, Canadian and Japanese markets (FX spreads apply).
Trade over 45,000 shares and ETFs from Australia and 15 major global markets. Plus, buy Aussie shares or ETFs for $0 brokerage up to $1,000 (First buy order of each security, each day - excludes margin loan settled trades).
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Sign up with code ‘finder24’ and get US$10 of Nvidia stock when you fund your account with $100 or more within 30 days. T&Cs apply.
Enjoy US$2 brokerage (other fees may apply) on US stocks and buying ETFs as well as $2 fee to trade Australian shares up to $20,000.
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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Carnival stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. However, this is not a recommendation. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Josh Gilbert's headshot
Expert insight

"After a terrible few years, cruise demand is back above pre-pandemic levels, serving as a positive tailwind for Carnival for the rest of this fiscal year. Earnings from across the industry are glowing, and Carnival’s Q1 earnings in March showed that its loss was narrowing, with its top and bottom line beating Wall Street estimates. If demand continues, Carnival’s financial troubles incurred from the pandemic period should begin to improve."

Josh Gilbert
Market analyst, eToro

Is Carnival under- or over-valued?

Valuing Carnival stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Carnival's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Carnival's P/E ratio

Carnival's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 22x. In other words, Carnival shares trade at around 22x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Carnival's PEG ratio

Carnival's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.41. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Carnival's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Carnival's EBITDA

Carnival's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$5.9 billion (£4.6 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Carnival's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure stock profitability.

Carnival share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Carnival's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$13.78 up to US$25.8. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta measures a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Carnival's is 2.668. This would suggest that Carnival's shares are significantly more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent a higher risk.

Carnival financials

Revenue TTM US$24.5 billion
Operating margin TTM 27.61%
Gross profit TTM US$10.7 billion
Return on assets TTM 4.25%
Return on equity TTM 20.12%
Profit margin 6.39%
Book value 6.785
Market capitalisation US$33.7 billion
EBITDA US$5.9 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Carnival share dividends

We're not expecting Carnival to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Carnival's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Carnival.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Carnival's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 29.72

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Carnival's overall score of 29.72 (as at 12/31/2018) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 33rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Carnival is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Carnival's environmental score

Environmental score: 15.93/100

Carnival's environmental score of 15.93 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Carnival is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Carnival's social score

Social score: 16/100

Carnival's social score of 16 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Carnival is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Carnival's governance score

Governance score: 8.29/100

Carnival's governance score puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Carnival is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Carnival's controversy score

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Carnival scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Carnival hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Carnival Corporation was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score 29.72
Total ESG percentile 33.28
Environmental score 15.93
Environmental score percentile 9
Social score 16
Social score percentile 9
Governance score 8.29
Governance score percentile 9
Level of controversy 3

Carnival overview

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches. The company offers its services under the Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises, and Cunard brand. Additionally, it sells its cruises primarily through travel agents, tour operators, vacation planners, and websites. Carnival Corporation & plc was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Carnival's subsidiary companies

Carnival Cruise Line

provider1

Princess Cruises

provider1

Holland America Line

provider1

P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises logo

AIDA Cruises

AIDA Cruises

Cunard Line

Cunard Line

Costa Cruises

Costa Cruises

P&O Cruises Australia

P&O Cruises Australia

Seabourn Cruise Line

Seabourn Cruise Line logo

Key people at Carnival

Carnival has more than 150,000 employees worldwide. Some of the key figures at Carnival are:

  • Christine Duffy, President
  • Terry Thornton, Vice President
  • Gus Antorcha, Chief Operating Officer

Frequently asked questions about Carnival Corp (CCL)

Kylie Purcell's headshot
Written by

Investments analyst

Kylie Purcell is the senior investments editor and analyst at Finder. She has completed a Certificate of Securities and Managed Investments (RG146) and specialises in investment products including online brokers, robo-advisors, stocks and ETFs. See full bio

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Kylie has written 134 Finder guides across topics including:
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