Carnival Hits New 52-Week and 5-Year High: Time to Abandon Ship?

Group 1: Market Overview - In recent trading, the NYSE saw 125 new 52-week highs compared to 47 new lows, while Nasdaq had 214 new lows against 166 new highs [2] - Carnival (CCL) is among the high-volume new 52-week highs on the NYSE, up 27% year-to-date, reaching its 19th new 52-week high at $32.89 [2] Group 2: Carnival's Valuation Metrics - Carnival's current enterprise value is $67.61 billion, with an EV/revenue multiple of 2.54, which is lower than the 3.22x multiple in 2017 [4] - The company's current enterprise value is 8.83 times its EBITDA, down from 11.13x at the end of 2017, indicating a 26% decrease [5] Group 3: Debt and Financial Health - As of November 30, Carnival's total debt stands at $27.99 billion, significantly higher than the $9.22 billion in 2017, representing a 203% increase [6] - Carnival's 2025 EBITDA reached a record $7.24 billion, up from $5.08 billion in 2017, but the total debt is now 3.87 times EBITDA compared to 1.81 times in 2017 [6] - The Altman Z-Score for Carnival has decreased from 2.89 in 2017 to 1.23 today, indicating a distressed financial condition [6]