How to buy Carnival shares

Carnival Corporation and plc is a British-American leisure company, best known for its cruise line. The company travels to 700 global destinations, and serves 13 million guests each year. Nearly half of those lucky to go on a cruise will be travelling on one of the company’s 9 cruise line brands. Here is everything you need to know about investing in the world’s largest leisure company.

Our top picks for where to buy Carnival shares:

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Fees for buying 100x Carnival shares with popular platforms

Share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform	Customer rating	Platform fee	Min. initial deposit	Trading fee estimate
	★★★★★	£0 - £9.99	No minimum	£0.00 £796.40 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	$50	£0.00 £796.40 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	£250	£8.00 £804.40 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	Not yet rated	£0	No minimum	£0.00 £796.40 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	£1	£11.95 £808.35 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	No minimum	£1.83 £798.23 total	Read review Capital at risk

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Alternative ways to invest in Carnival

• Invest in Carnival via a fund

  Buying shares in just one company can leave you more exposed to unexpected swings in the market than if you have a range of investments - a "diversified portfolio". Experts generally recommend having a broad mix of assets and funds that hold a ready-made portfolio of at least 50 different companies' shares, on the basis that drops in the value of some will be offset by rises elsewhere.

  Carnival is a major part of the LSE index, so it's included in many global funds and investment trusts, as well as tracker-style exchange traded funds (ETFs).

• Invest in Carnival via S&P 500

  Logo	Fund (Ticker)	5 year growth	1 year growth	Link to invest
  	Invesco S&P 500 (SPXP)	79.10%	4.61%	Capital at risk
  	Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap (XSPX)	78.94%	4.55%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	iShares Core S&P 500 (CSP1)	76.41%	4.03%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	HSBC S&P 500 (HSPX)	65.02%	2.76%	Invest with Saxo Capital at risk
  	Vanguard S&P 500 (VUSA)	63.95%	2.62%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)	51.89%	1.68%	Invest with eToro Capital at risk

• Invest in Carnival via FTSE 250

  Icon	Fund	5-year growth	1-year growth (to February 2023)	Link to invest
  	Vanguard FTSE 250 UCITS ETF Distributing (VMID)	15.11%	-5.78%	Invest with FreetradeCapital at risk
  	Invesco FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (S250)	15.42%	-5.08%	Invest with IGCapital at risk
  	iShares FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (MIDD)	14.33%	-5.30%	Invest with eToroCapital at risk
  	HSBC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF GBP (HMCX)	14.31%	-5.30%	Invest with IGCapital at risk
  	Xtrackers FTSE 250 UCITS ETF 1D (XMCX)	14.42%	-5.92%	Invest with IGCapital at risk

  All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Is it a good time to buy Carnival stock?

Only you can make the decision on the time to leap. The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.

Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.

• See the technical analysis gauge

• See Carnival share price (LSE:CCL)

  Use our graph to track the performance of CCL stocks over time.

  Share price volatility

  Over the last 12 months, Carnival's shares have ranged in value from as little as 482.9p up to 1038.7p. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

  Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (LSE average) beta is 1, while Carnival's is 2.2248. This would suggest that Carnival's shares are significantly more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent a higher risk.

  To put Carnival's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

  • Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.US): 2.4433
  • Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH.US): 2.4898

• What's Carnival price performance over time?

  Historical closes compared with the last close of 796.4p

  1 week (2023-05-23)	-0.28%
  1 month (2023-04-28)	21.70%
  3 months (2023-03-01)	1.63%
  6 months (2022-11-30)	11.26%
  1 year (2022-05-26)	-17.52%
  2 years (2021-05-27)	-54.43%
  3 years (2020-05-29)	-24.69%
  5 years (2018-05-30)	-83.56%

Invest in Carnival shares

• Start investing from $50
• Pay no stamp duty on UK shares
• Commission-free trading. Other fees may apply.

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Capital at risk

Is Carnival under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the Carnival P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA

• Carnival PEG ratio

What's Carnival's ESG 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.

Overall Carnival ESG score

Carnival's total ESG risk: 25.72

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Carnival's overall score of 25.72 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 29th 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.).

To gain some more context, you can compare Carnival's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

• Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.US): 21.81
• Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH.US): 29.48

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance
• Controversy

Frequently asked questions

• Does Carnival pay dividends?

  • Forward yield

  Forward annual dividend yield: 23.72% of stock value

  The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 20 February 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

  Carnival's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

  • Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.US): 5.25% (5.25% forward annual dividend yield)
  • Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH.US): 0.00% (does not pay dividend)

  • Carnival dividend history

    Dividend	Type	Ex-dividend date	Payment date
    $0.5		20/02/2020	13/03/2020
    $0.5		21/11/2019	13/12/2019
    $0.5		22/08/2019	13/09/2019
    $0.5		23/05/2019	14/06/2019
    $0.5		21/02/2019	15/03/2019
    $0.5	Final	22/11/2018	14/12/2018
    $0.5		23/08/2018	14/09/2018
    $0.5		24/05/2018	15/06/2018
    $0.45		22/02/2018	16/03/2018
    $0.45	Final	23/11/2017	15/12/2017
    $0.4		24/08/2017	15/09/2017
    $0.4		25/05/2017	16/06/2017
    $0.35		23/02/2017	17/03/2017
    $0.35	Final	24/11/2016	16/12/2016
    $0.35		25/08/2016	16/09/2016
    $0.35		26/05/2016	17/06/2016
    $0.3		18/02/2016	11/03/2016
    $0.3	Final	19/11/2015	11/12/2015
    $0.3		21/08/2015	11/09/2015
    $0.25		21/05/2015	12/06/2015
    $0.25		19/02/2015	13/03/2015
    $0.25	Final	20/11/2014	12/12/2014
    $0.25		20/08/2014	12/09/2014
    $0.25		21/05/2014	13/06/2014
    $0.25		19/02/2014	14/03/2014
    $0.25	Final	20/11/2013	13/12/2013
    $0.25		21/08/2013	13/09/2013
    $0.25		22/05/2013	14/06/2013
    $0.25		22/05/2013	14/06/2013
    $0.25	Final	21/11/2012	14/12/2012
    $0.25		22/08/2012	14/09/2012
    $0.25		23/05/2012	15/06/2012
    $0.25		22/02/2012	16/03/2012
    $0.25	Final	23/11/2011	16/12/2011
    $0.25		24/08/2011	16/09/2011
    $0.25		18/05/2011	10/06/2011
    $0.25		16/02/2011	11/03/2011
    $0.1	Final	17/11/2010	10/12/2010
    $0.1		18/08/2010	10/09/2010
    $0.1		20/05/2010	11/06/2010
    $0.1		17/02/2010	12/03/2010
    $0.4	Final	19/11/2008	12/12/2008
    $0.4		20/08/2008	12/09/2008
    $0.4		21/05/2008	13/06/2008
    $0.4		20/02/2008	14/03/2008
    $0.4	Final	21/11/2007	14/12/2007
    $0.35		22/08/2007	14/09/2007
    $0.35		16/05/2007	08/06/2007
    $0.275		14/02/2007	09/03/2007
    $0.275	Final	15/11/2006	08/12/2006
    $0.25		17/05/2006	09/06/2006
    $0.25		17/05/2006	09/06/2006
    $0.25		15/02/2006	10/03/2006
    $0.25	Final	16/11/2005	09/12/2005
    $0.2		17/08/2005	09/09/2005
    $0.2		18/05/2005	10/06/2005
    $0.15		16/02/2005	11/03/2005
    $0.15	Final	17/11/2004	10/12/2004
    $0.125		18/08/2004	10/09/2004
    $0.125		19/05/2004	11/06/2004
    $0.125		18/02/2004	12/03/2004
    $0.125	Final	19/11/2003	12/12/2003
    $0.105		20/08/2003	12/09/2003
    $0.105		21/05/2003	13/06/2003
    $0.105		19/02/2003	14/03/2003
    $0.105	Final	13/11/2002	17/12/2002
    $0.105		14/08/2002	17/09/2002
    $0.105		15/05/2002	17/06/2002
    $0.105		03/04/2002	10/05/2002
    $0.105	Final	14/11/2001	17/12/2001
    $0.105		15/08/2001	17/09/2001
    $0.105		16/05/2001	15/06/2001
    $0.105	Final	04/04/2001	04/05/2001

  Currently 0.799% of Carnival shares are held by insiders and 31.877% by institutions.

• How many people work for Carnival?

  Latest data suggests 87,000 work at Carnival.

• When does the fiscal year end for Carnival?

  Carnival's fiscal year ends in November.

• Where is Carnival based?

  Carnival's address is: Carnival Place, Miami, FL, United States, 33178-2428

• What is Carnival's ISIN number?

  Carnival's international securities identification number is: GB0031215220

• How to sell Carnival shares

  It's as easy to sell Carnival as it is to buy! Here's how to sell Carnival that you already own.

  1. Open your investment app. If you've got one with desktop access, you can log in online
  2. Go to your portfolio. This should be in the main menu
  3. Find your shares. You may be able to search your portfolio
  4. Choose how many you'd like to sell. You'll be able to review the price and see how much you'll receive
  5. Sell your Carnival shares. Your investment platform will let you know when your shares are sold

• Can you buy Carnival shares with a debit card?

  Most share dealing providers in the UK will let you use your debit card to top up your account and buy shares. The main ways are with a debit card, bank transfer or with Apple/Google Pay.

• What's the easiest way to buy Carnival shares?

  The easiest way to get hold of some Carnival shares is to sign up for a share trading app and place a market order or basic order. This type of order tells the platform that you're interested, so it'll try to execute it as quickly as it can. It could take some time for the order to go through, especially if there's a lot of volatility in Carnival shares.

• Do you need to complete a W8-BEN form if you want to invest in Carnival

  If you're investing in a US stock, you'll need to complete a W8-BEN form to minimise your tax liability. Whether these are automatically handled for you depends on your broker, so it would be a good idea to check with them directly.

• What is the key financial information for Carnival?

  Financials

  Revenue TTM	£15 billion
  Gross profit TTM	£3.8 billion
  Return on assets TTM	-3.13%
  Return on equity TTM	-59.4%
  Profit margin	-32.68%
  Book value	4.889p
  Market capitalisation	£9.9 billion

  TTM: trailing 12 months