Royal Caribbean is the world's second-largest cruise company by revenues, operating 69 ships across five global and partner brands in the cruise vacation industry. Brands the company operates include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The company also has a 50% investment in a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The selection of brands in the portfolio allows Royal to compete on the basis of innovation, quality of ships and service, variety of itineraries, choice of destinations, and price. The company completed the divestiture of its Azamara brand in 2021, plans to launch its new Celebrity River Cruise brand in 2027, and is set to operate eight private destination locations by 2028.

Royal Caribbean is the world's second-largest cruise company by revenues, operating 69 ships across five global and partner brands in the cruise vacation industry. Brands the company operates include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The company also has a 50% investment in a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The selection of brands in the portfolio allows Royal to compete on the basis of innovation, quality of ships and service, variety of itineraries, choice of destinations, and price. The company completed the divestiture of its Azamara brand in 2021, plans to launch its new Celebrity River Cruise brand in 2027, and is set to operate eight private destination locations by 2028.

Royal Caribbean Group is the operating business name for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Royal Caribbean Group is the owner and operator of global cruise vacation brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. Royal Caribbean Group also has a portfolio of land-based vacation experiences through Perfect Day at CocoCay and Royal Beach Club collection. The company is also a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

The flood of earnings reports continues this week, with about 1,500 public companies reporting results for their last quarter. The April jobs report also will come out. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose 1%. Year to date, all three indices are in positive territory, with the DJIA up 3%, the S&P 500 higher by 6%, and the Nasdaq up by 8%. On the earnings calendar, highlights for the week include Palantir on Monday; AMD, Shopify, Arista Networks, Pfizer, and Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday; Walt Disney, Marriott, Uber, CVS Health, DoorDash, and Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday; McDonald's, Airbnb, Shell, and Cloudflare on Thursday; and Toyota on Friday. On the economic calendar, new data is pending on the labor market. Job Openings and New Home Sales will be reported on Tuesday; private payrolls report data from ADP on Wednesday; and the April Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. Turning to economic data, gas prices remain elevated and rose eight cents last week, hitting an average of $4.12 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecasts calls for GDP growth of 3.5% in the first quarter, up from the 1.2% forecast given just last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast calls for CPI of 3.6% in April and 3.9% in May. The CPI print was 3.3% in March. Mortgage rates moved higher last week, up seven basis points, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.30%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is on June 17, with odds at 7% for a rate cut. President Trump's nominee to be the next Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, has been voted through on the Senate side. The next step is to be confirmed by the House of Representatives. Jerome Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15, but he will remain on the FOMC as a governor. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 6% year to date, and the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 17% year to date. U.S. growth stocks are up 1% year to date based on the IWF ETF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 9%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at $103 per barrel, up 77% year to date. In other asset classes, AGG bonds are down 1%, gold is up 6%, and Bitcoin is down 11%. The U.S. dollar is flat, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at about 17 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026, as of April 24, is Energy (+31%), Materials (+13%), Industrials (+12%), Consumer Staples (+11%), Real Estate (+11%), Utilities (+10%), Communication Services (+10%), Information Technology (+8%), Consumer Discretionary (+3%), Financials (-4%), and Healthcare (-6%). By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 6% year to date.