09/25/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/25/2026 03:32
Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is set to report its earnings on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The company has $30 billion in current market capitalization. Revenue over the last twelve months was $27 billion, and it was operationally profitable with $4.5 billion in operating profits and net income of $3.1 billion. While the post-earnings stock reaction will depend on how the results and outlook stack up against investor expectations, a detailed look at historical results can aid you if you are an event-driven trader.
Here is how: either understand the historical odds and position yourself prior to the earnings announcement, or look at the correlation between immediate and medium-term returns post earnings and enter a trade one day after the announcement.
See earnings reaction history of all stocks
Individual stocks can be volatile, but markets aren't spared either. Think 2008 and 2020. Volatility happens. See how Trefis' Boston-based wealth management partner's asset allocation framework handled both.
Carnival Corporation's Historical Odds Of Positive Post-Earnings Return
Some observations on one-day (1D) post-earnings returns:
Additional data for observed 5-Day (5D) and 21-Day (21D) returns post earnings are summarized along with the statistics in the table below.
Correlation Between 1D, 5D and 21D Historical Returns
A relatively less risky strategy (though not useful if the correlation is low) is to understand the correlation between short-term and medium-term returns post earnings, find a pair that has the highest correlation, and execute the appropriate trade. For example, 5D_21D shows the strongest correlation here, and it is negative: if the 5D post-earnings return is positive, a trader can position themselves in the opposite direction over the following 21D window. Here is some correlation data based on a 5-year and a 3-year (more recent) history. Note that these correlations are between subsequent windows, not the cumulative columns above: 1D_5D is the correlation between the 1D post-earnings return and the subsequent return from day 1 through day 5, 1D_21D is between the 1D return and the subsequent return from day 1 through day 21, and 5D_21D is between the 5D return and the subsequent return from day 5 through day 21.
| History | 1D_5D | 1D_21D | 5D_21D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5Y History | -28.6% | -42.0% | -42.8% |
| 3Y History | 2.1% | 8.2% | 3.4% |
Separately, if you want upside with a smoother ride than an individual stock such as CCL, consider the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 - the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.