Carnival Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly): 31.30B for Aug. 31, 2023.

As of early 2026, Carnival Corporation ($CCL) continues to manage a significant debt load incurred during the global travel pauses of previous years, though it has been aggressively paying it down. Total debt currently stands at approximately $28 billion. When divided by the roughly 1.27 billion shares outstanding, this equates to roughly $22.00 of debt per share. While this figure sounds high, Carnival's strong 2026 financial guidance—predicting a full-year EPS of $2.48 and a return to quarterly dividends—indicates that the company's cash flow is more than sufficient to service its interest payments and reduce the principal. Investors in 2026 view the "debt-per-share" metric as a sign of the company's recovery progress, as the net margin has stabilized around 10.37% and the return on equity remains a robust 28.39%, proving that the fleet's revenue-generating power is successfully outpacing its liabilities.

Excellent question. The amount of debt a company like Carnival Corporation & plc (ticker: CCL) carries is a critical financial metric, especially after the challenges of the pandemic.

Here is a breakdown of Carnival’s debt as of its most recent quarterly report (Q2 2024, ending May 31, 2024).

Key Debt Figures (as of May 31, 2024)

1. Total Debt: $28.2 billion

   • This is the gross figure for long-term debt before considering cash on hand.

2. Net Debt: $25.6 billion

   • This is a more meaningful metric. It’s calculated as Total Debt ($28.2B) minus Cash & Cash Equivalents ($2.6B).
   • Net debt shows the company’s debt burden after accounting for the cash it has available to pay it down.

Important Context and Trends

• High, but Strategically Reduced: Carnival’s debt ballooned from about $11 billion at the end of 2019 to over $35 billion at its peak in early 2023 as it borrowed heavily to survive the cruise industry shutdown. The current $28.2 billion is a significant reduction from that peak, showing an active deleveraging strategy.
• Financial Improvement: Management has stated that reducing debt is a top priority. They have been using strong operating cash flows to prepay and refinance debt, which lowers interest expenses.
• Maturity Wall: A major focus has been addressing near-term debt maturities. Carnival has successfully refinanced and pushed out its debt maturities, with no significant maturities until 2026, which reduces near-term liquidity risk.
• Comparison to Equity: The company’s Total Shareholders’ Equity was $7.1 billion as of May 31, 2024. This means the debt load is still high relative to the equity in the company.

Where to Find the Official Information

You can always find the most up-to-date figures in Carnival’s quarterly (10-Q) and annual (10-K) reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): 1. Go to the SEC’s EDGAR database. 2. Search for “Carnival Corp.” 3. Look for the most recent