Should You Wait to Buy Carnival Until a Coronavirus Vaccine Is Out?

No one knows when cruise ships will be sailing out of U.S. ports again, and that's the kind of uncertainty that has been brutal to the cruise line operators. Carnival (NYSE: CCL)(NYSE: CUK) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH) have seen their stocks plummet 70% so far this year through Thursday's close. Rival Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) has fared relatively better, but even the market darling has shed more than half of its value in 2020.

Momentum was on the industry's side before the new normal. Carnival saw its top line climb 10% in fiscal 2019, its heartiest revenue gain in more than a decade. A buoyant global economy and healthy demand served Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean well.

The pandemic changed everything, and by that logic, a coronavirus vaccine would find the industry setting sail in the right direction again. Anything that would make COVID-19 a thing of the past will be celebrated by Carnival and its shareholders, but it can't really go back -- at least not anytime soon. As an investor, you can't party like it's 2019.

Source Fool.com