Apr 15, 2020 - Economy & Business

Cruise company stocks are surging in April despite the coronavirus pandemic

Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals

U.S. cruise line stocks popped on Tuesday after Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in an interview that customers are already booking trips for 2021.

Flashback: The comments mirrored what Donald told me in an interview last month for "Axios on HBO" that the company had interest from potential customers until it shut down operations.

"All the way up until the day we paused people wanted to cruise."

The intrigue: Carnival's stock has risen 30% so far this month.

The stock rose 8% on Tuesday (a week after a 20% gain) and has seen a gain or loss of less than 5% on just one trading day this month.
Other cruise companies also saw major surges in their stock prices Tuesday, with Royal Caribbean rising 13.4% and Norwegian Cruise Line gaining 8.7%.

But, but, but: Carnival's stock price is still down 75% since the beginning of the year.

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Wall Street forecasts blockbuster sales for Gilead's coronavirus drug remdesivir

Photo: Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images

Gilead's intravenous coronavirus drug remdesivir could fetch $6.7 billion in revenue in 2021 with a 19% profit margin, assuming the company prices each treatment at $5,000, according to new forecasts from Geoffrey Porges, a highly read pharmaceutical analyst at Wall Street firm SVB Leerink.

Why it matters: That kind of price tag would make remdesivir a blockbuster, but it's far from being a blockbuster treatment.

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Margaret Harding McGill

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As techlash heats up again, here's who's stoking the fire

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

As controversies around online speech rage against a backdrop of racial tension, presidential provocation and a pandemic, a handful of companies, lawmakers and advocacy groups have continued to promote a backlash against Big Tech.

The big picture: Companies like Facebook and Google got a reputational boost at the start of the coronavirus lockdown, but that respite from criticism proved brief. They're now once again walking a minefield of regulatory investigations, public criticism and legislative threats over antitrust concerns, content moderation and privacy concerns.

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Cities are retooling public transit to lure riders back

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

After being told for months to stay away from others, the idea of being shoulder to shoulder again in a bus or subway terrifies many people, requiring sweeping changes to public transit systems for the COVID-19 era.

Why it matters: Cities can't come close to resuming normal economic activity until large numbers of people feel comfortable using public transportation.

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