Carnival is on an epic losing streak with (another) coronavirus-infected ship
Not living up to the name... Carnival. The cruise operator's slogan is "fun for all, all for fun" — its customers are far from feeling it. A 71-year-old man just died after sailing on Carnival's Grand Princess cruise, on which he was "likely exposed" to coronavirus. Now the ship is being held off the coast of SF, with 100 people identified for testing. This is Carnival's 3rd debacle in 3 months:
- First, 2 Carnival ships collided in a Mexican port.
- Then, there was Carnival's Diamond Princess ship, quarantined off the coast of Japan with almost 700 coronavirus-infected passengers (leading to 6 deaths).
- Now, another ship's infected — Carnival stock plummeted 14% on Thursday, and is down 46% since mid-January. Still...
Carnival enthusiastically dominates the cruise world... In 2018, Carnival took home 50% of sales in the entire cruise market. Since January, shares of the 3 big operators — Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian — have plummeted 30% to multiyear lows. Still... Excluding the coronavirus outbreak, Americans' cruise-thusiasm has been strong: Carnival's sales have risen 7% each year since 2015.
Major players in successful industries have resources to weather storms... Carnival's dominance might protect it long term from temporary (but major) setbacks. Today's coronavirus impact reminds us of the travel industry's struggle post-9/11. But industry-shaking issues like coronavirus could be bigger tests for smaller players with fewer resources:
- Luminous Cruise, a small Japanese operator, filed for bankruptcy due to virus cancellations.
- Struggling UK airline Flybe collapsed — the virus-related fall in sales dealt it its final blow.