Carnival made $5.3bn in nine months: $2.2bn repaid debt, $1.5bn went to shareholders, nothing new borrowed
Fiscal Q3 2026 10-Q: of $5,303m in operating cash flow, $2,186m repaid long-term debt and $1,547m went to dividends and buybacks. A year earlier there were no dividends and no buybacks
aiSwingX™ Editorial · Reviewed
Published
Carnival Corporation Ltd. Form 10-Q (fiscal Q3 2026, filed 2026-09-29): consolidated statements of cash flows, income and balance sheets, Note 3 'Debt', MD&A 'Liquidity, Financial Condition and Capital Resources', and the Item 2 share purchase table
aiSwingX™ analyzes US filings and reports them as news investors can read.
Carnival (CCL) filed its 10-Q for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 on September 29. Its cash flow statement shows $5,303m of cash from operations in the first nine months. The company used it to repay $2,186m of long-term debt and to return $1,547m to shareholders. It issued no new long-term debt in the period.
In plain terms
Carnival is a cruise company. In nine months it made $5.3bn of cash from its business. It used $2.2bn of that to pay down debt and gave $1.5bn back to shareholders. It took on no new long-term borrowing. A year earlier it gave nothing back to shareholders.
What happened
Carnival (CCL) is the world's largest cruise company. Its fiscal year ends on November 30. On September 29 it filed its 10-Q for the third quarter of fiscal 2026. The report carries the cash flow statement for the first nine months, December 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026.
Cash from operations in that period was $5,303m. The company used it to repay $2,186m of long-term debt. It paid $618m in dividends and spent $929m buying back shares. That is $1,547m returned to shareholders.
Two things stand out. The company issued no new long-term debt in the period. And the cash flow statement for the same period a year earlier shows no dividends and no buybacks.
What the numbers meanSubscribers
Operating income fell and net income roseSubscribers
We find the numbers that are in the filing but not in the news, and analyze what they mean, how big they are and what to watch next quarter — with the arithmetic and quarterly metrics. Cancel any time.
Not ready to subscribe? Get free alerts when new articles go out.
Only on days we publish. Unsubscribe any time.
FAQ
Where can I confirm that nothing new was borrowed?
In financing activities on the cash flow statement, the line for proceeds from issuance of long-term debt. It is empty for these nine months and carries an amount for the same period a year earlier.
Is this the first time Carnival has paid dividends and bought back shares?
What this 10-Q shows is that there were neither in the same period a year earlier (December 2024 to August 2025). Earlier periods are not in this report.
Cash fell. Is there a problem repaying debt?
The company states in the 10-Q that at August 31 it was in compliance with the covenants under its debt agreements. The specific liquidity and maturity figures are explained in the subscriber section.
Where can I check these figures myself?
On SEC EDGAR, in Carnival Corporation Ltd.'s 10-Q for fiscal Q3 2026 (accession 0000815097-26-000107): the consolidated statements of cash flows, Note 3 and the liquidity section of MD&A.
How aiSwingX™ wrote this
We read the filing on SEC EDGAR in full — statements, notes, MD&A. Press releases and news are not used as sources.
Every figure is reconciled to its location in the filing and to XBRL data. One mismatch means no publication.
An editor reviews before publication; any later change is recorded in the revision history.
Carnival Corporation Ltd. Form 10-Q (fiscal Q3 2026, filed 2026-09-29): consolidated statements of cash flows, income and balance sheets, Note 3 'Debt', MD&A 'Liquidity, Financial Condition and Capital Resources', and the Item 2 share purchase table · SEC EDGAR · This article is not investment advice. Disclaimer
Frequently asked questions
Where can I verify the figures in this article?
Open the filing cited at the bottom of the article (e.g. the 10-Q note number) on SEC EDGAR via the link at the end of the article.
What is the at-a-glance box?
A four-item summary of the article: the key figure, what it means, the source, and what to watch next quarter. If you are short on time, read just that.
May I quote or share this article?
Customary quotation and sharing are fine with attribution (aiSwingX™ and the article URL). Republishing the full text elsewhere requires the License plan.
aiSwingX™ analyzes US filings and reports them as news investors can read.
