Carnival Stock Investors Are Playing a Dangerous Game

They say that a rising tide lifts all ships, but what happens when the waves are rough and those same ships start to take on water? Shares of Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) tumbled 11% on Tuesday after the company posted disappointing preliminary results for the fiscal third quarter that ended in August.

Fellow cruise line operators Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) slipped in sympathy, down nearly 5% apiece. With Carnival scaling back its fleet and printing more shares, getting back to where it was a year ago -- in terms of revenue and per-share profitability -- isn't going to be a smooth voyage. Investors considering a stake in Carnival or any of the publicly traded players may want to make sure they check the ports of call before walking up the gangway. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com