CC

Carnival Corporation Ltd. stock research

Nov 30, 2023

FY2023 Q4

Carnival (CCL) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Nov 30, 2023

Revenue and gross profit were lower than the immediately preceding quarter, while cost of revenue also decreased. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, revenue and gross profit were higher, and gross margin improved substantially.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Nov 30, 2023 · FY2023 Q4

Revenue and gross profit were lower than the immediately preceding quarter, while cost of revenue also decreased. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, revenue and gross profit were higher, and gross margin improved substantially.

  • The strongest observable margin driver is the relationship between revenue and cost of revenue: revenue declined less than cost of revenue relative to the prior quarter, which limited the gross margin compression. Compared to the year-ago quarter, revenue increased while cost of revenue remained nearly stable, driving a large gross margin expansion.
  • Gross margin weakened sequentially from the prior quarter but improved significantly compared to the same quarter one year earlier. The sequential decline was driven by a proportionally larger drop in gross profit relative to revenue, while the year-over-year improvement reflected a much higher gross profit on slightly lower cost of revenue.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

32.7%

Gross profit

$1.8B

Revenue

$5.4B

Cost of revenue

$3.6B

Quarter-over-quarter change

-10.0 pts

Year-over-year change

+28.2 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Feb 28, 2023$4.4B$1.1B$3.3B25.3%
May 31, 2023$4.9B$1.5B$3.5B29.6%
Aug 31, 2023$6.9B$2.9B$3.9B42.8%
Nov 30, 2023$5.4B$1.8B$3.6B32.7%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Aug 31, 2023

-10.0 pts

Year-over-year change

Nov 30, 2022

+28.2 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

The strongest observable margin driver is the relationship between revenue and cost of revenue: revenue declined less than cost of revenue relative to the prior quarter, which limited the gross margin compression. Compared to the year-ago quarter, revenue increased while cost of revenue remained nearly stable, driving a large gross margin expansion.

Gross margin weakened sequentially from the prior quarter but improved significantly compared to the same quarter one year earlier. The sequential decline was driven by a proportionally larger drop in gross profit relative to revenue, while the year-over-year improvement reflected a much higher gross profit on slightly lower cost of revenue.

Monitor the trajectory of cost of revenue relative to revenue in upcoming quarters, as its movement was the primary factor behind both the sequential decline and the year-over-year improvement in gross margin.