Carnival reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings before the open on Friday
Before investors start their calendar prep for 2025, there's one final earnings report to monitor this week. Cruise company Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on Friday, December 20. Ahead of the event, options traders have been betting bullishly.
In the last two weeks, per the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 21,547 calls have changed hands, compared to just 6,203 puts. The December 27 call was a top trade during this time frame, while there has also been sell-to-open activity at the April 18 put.
Carnival stock has an upbeat history of post-earnings reactions. The shares gapped 8.7% higher after the company's July report, and scored a 6.2% post-earnings pop last December. For Friday's trading, the options market is pricing in a 10.4% post-earnings move, much larger than the average 4.8% post-earnings move over the past two years.
CCL is down 0.7% to trade at $25.73 at last check, and has spent the last two weeks consolidating below its Dec. 5 three-year high of $27.16. The shares are up 39.2% in 2024, with support stepping up at the ascending 20-day moving average. There's some intriguing short squeeze potential as well, with short interest up 7.6% in the most recent reporting period and the 66.94 million shares sold short accounting for a healthy 6.3% of CCL's total available float.
It's worth noting that the stock's elevated Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 92 out of 100 implies a tendency to outperform volatility expectations -- a boon for premium players.