Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Aug. 9. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenues will decrease 3.7% and EPS will compress 21.4%.

The average estimate for revenue is $2.24 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.43.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Royal Caribbean Cruises recorded revenue of $1.82 billion. GAAP reported sales were 3.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.77 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.03. GAAP EPS were -$0.02 for Q2 compared to $0.43 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 40.2%, 400 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.3%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.2%, 550 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $7.72 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.77.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 415 members out of 501 rating the stock outperform, and 86 members rating it underperform. Among 136 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 115 give Royal Caribbean Cruises a green thumbs-up, and 21 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Royal Caribbean Cruises is outperform, with an average price target of $32.86.