Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Carnival (CCL) This Year?

The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Carnival (CCL) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.Carnival is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 265 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Carnival is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCL's full-year earnings has moved 8.2% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Our latest available data shows that CCL has returned about 4.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 1.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Carnival is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sony (SONY). The stock is up 42.3% year-to-date.Over the past three months, Sony's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, Carnival is a member of the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, which includes 28 individual companies and currently sits at #90 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 4.9% this year, meaning that CCL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Sony, however, belongs to the Audio Video Production industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #25. The industry has moved +38.6% so far this year.Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Carnival and Sony as they could maintain their solid performance.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Carnival Corporation (CCL): Free Stock Analysis Report Sony Corporation (SONY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks