The shares shed 6% of their value last week, when Carnival posted disappointing fiscal first-quarter results that saw earnings dip by 19% on a meager uptick in revenue.
Anyone who saw the charred side of the Star Princess in the news after last week's fire probably saw this coming. It was painfully obvious that the ship would miss the rest of the seasonally potent spring break period in the Caribbean. Now the boat is off to a German shipyard for the necessary repairs before resuming its voyages in Europe.
Carnival, along with peers like Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL), NCL, and Disney (NYSE:DIS) was able to book its fleet with ease this past quarter. The financial culprit for the industry has been soaring fuel prices. In Carnival's case, the 63% spurt in fuel costs over the past year has hurt the company's margins.
Carnival will eventually sail past this roadblock. It made it through the post-9/11 tourism slump. It survived the Norwalk-like virus outbreak a year later. The fuel spike will either pass or be successfully passed on to its customers.
The cruise line's weakness shouldn't affect Steiner Leisure (NASDAQ:STNR). Yes, Steiner will have to forgo the spa revenue on the Star Princess over the next seven weeks. But the 122 other ship spas Steiner operates aren't bearing the brunt of higher energy prices. If anything, the one heartening part of Carnival's report from last week was that passenger yields were up. In other words, patrons were spending more in drinks, shore excursions, gaming, and spa services.
It may be one reason why Steiner's performance has been pretty steady over the years, despite the ups and downs of the cruising industry. It has topped analyst estimates over the past four years during every single quarter but one. The stock is trading 85% higher since it was recommended to Rule Breakers newsletter subscribers 17 months ago. It's been one of the many winning picks in the premium stock research service; the average selection has risen by 32%, four times better than the S&P 500's 8% average advance.
So don't be down on the cruise industry just because one of Carnival's 80 ships will be unavailable until May. There are always opportunities to be had in this growing industry with improving demographics.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has sailed on the Star Princess before. He owns shares in Disney.The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
