Viking Holdings' solid Q2 results overshadowed by EPS miss, river metrics

[River tourist cruises on the Rhine River through Basel Stadt]
SiyueSteuber/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Led by strength in its Ocean voyages, Viking Holdings (NYSE:VIK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VIK]) realized a 19% increase in revenue during the second quarter [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486883-viking-holdings-ltd-non-gaap-eps-of-0_99-misses-by-0_01-revenue-of-1_88b-beats-by-30m], driving the company’s adjusted profits up 24% per share.

Shares are under pressure into the open, however, as the company’s river segment and aggregate revenue metrics were slightly less than anticipated, and Q2 EPS missed most expectations by a penny, all of which overshadowed otherwise strong results for the quarter.

With additional vessels added to its fleet and 10% more passenger cruise days (PCD), Viking’s (NYSE:VIK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VIK]) Q2 revenue increased to $1.88B, beating expectations by $30M. By segment, PCDs generated by its Ocean voyages increased by 11.4% versus +8.5% for its River cruises.

Additionally, Ocean revenue of $713M, occupancy and net yields all beat expectations, while River revenue of $1.02B and net yields were slightly below.

The company’s profitability improved as well with adjusted EPS of $0.99 per share up from $0.80 a year ago, driving adjusted gross margin up 19.2% and adjusted EBITDA by +28.5% to $632.9M, both of which exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.

Looking at future booking trends, Viking (NYSE:VIK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VIK]) has sold 96% of its capacity PCD for the 2025 season and 55% for 2026 season, both of which are tracking up from the prior year periods.

Viking Holdings (VIK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VIK]) shares last traded down 3% in premarket trading.

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