Viking Holdings Hit By Weak 2026 Pricing, Analyst Warns On Macro Uncertainty

Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski maintains a Buy rating on Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) on Wednesday, lowering the price forecast from $52 to $50.

On Tuesday, the company reported first-quarter results with total revenue of $897.1 million, an increase of 24.9% compared to the same period in 2024.

The analyst noted that early 2026 pricing trends are falling short of investor expectations, which may be poorly received given the uncertain macro outlook.

While Viking believes it can lift pricing through the rest of the year to reach mid-single-digit yield growth for 2026, Wieczynski emphasizes that the outcome remains uncertain.

Until more visibility into 2026 pricing and demand, the stock may remain flat.

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However, Wieczynski points out that Viking’s current 2026 booking levels—roughly 37% of inventory sold—are ahead of their forecast.

Importantly, it doesn’t appear that Viking is relying heavily on promotions to drive demand.

Even if booking momentum slows, the analyst writes that Viking is in a strong position due to its longer booking window and large customer base, which should help the company recover bookings more quickly.

The analyst found Viking’s response to concerns about booking strength to be reassuring, as the company clarified that FY25 pricing appeared inflated compared to FY24 due to the absence of a lower-yielding world cruise in the year-over-year comparison.

According to Wieczynski, Viking has room to drive demand through marketing without meaningfully raising SG&A as a percentage of revenue, thanks to its unique single-brand, direct marketing model, which gains efficiency as 10% to 15% capacity growth expands the fleet nearly every quarter.

The analyst highlights Viking’s strong projected EBITDA growth of approximately 18% annually through 2027.

Price Action: VIK shares are trading lower by 2.62% to $43.59 at last check Wednesday.

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