Look alive, King Tut, the Vikings are coming to town.

Travel company Viking VIK told the world on Aug. 18 that it had taken delivery of its newest river ship in Egypt, the Viking Amun. The vessel, which hosts 82 passengers in 41 staterooms, was treated to a delivery ceremony at Massara shipyard in Cairo.

And the day after the announcement, the company dropped anchor at Wall Street, matching analysts’ second-quarter earnings expectations and beating revenue estimates

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“Viking Cruises has created a differentiated high-end cruising experience that’s both upscale and chill,” said Daniel Kline, editor in chief of travelhost.com and a leading expert on cruises, who founded the Come Cruise With Me section of the site.

“They have also managed to make smaller ships feel much larger than they are.Their ships are so well designed that even though they are very small compared to the megaships, they never feel that way, like a well designed house.”

Viking Holdings is expanding its fleet, including its river ships.

Bjoern Wylezich/Shutterstock

What’s behind Viking’s success?

Wall Street attributes Viking’s success to a number of factors:

– The company is marketing to, and booking, wealthy cruisers. Viking’s tagline encourages people to “explore the world in comfort,” targeting affluent travelers age 55 and older. That rapidly growing part of the population owns roughly 73% of all wealth in the U.S

– These cruisers are loyal: They return-cruise with Viking. Viking is “fortunate to have very loyal guests, travelers who return to Viking time and time again,” Tor Hagen, chairman and CEO, told Wall Street analysts.during the company’s earnings call.

– And its ships and itineraries are made for serenity, rather than all fun, all the time. “They get into their 50s and say, ‘we really want to have a different experience than this stuff, where we go with our kids and do all the fun stuff,'” Hagen said. “We want to have a quiet, serene experience.”

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In Q2 Viking’s net income nearly tripled to 99 cents a share from 38 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue climbed 18% to $1.88 billion. The results reaffirm “the strength of our business model, of our brand and our guest demographic,” Hagen said.

Luxury tourism is expected to grow faster than any other sector, according to McKinsey & Co., driven by a growing number of high-net-worth consumers and more travelers allocating more of their income to premium experiences. The luxury tourism sector will reach $391 billion by 2028, up 64% from $239 billion in 2023, research shows.

Viking is expanding its fleet

The company is more or less fully booked for 2025. And it has a fat order book to meet the demand.

In addition to the Viking Amun, the company plans to welcome five other new ships in Egypt in the next two years, which will bring the fleet to 12 vessels on the Nile River by 2027. Viking said it expected to take delivery of 27 additional river ships by 2028 and 10 additional ocean ships by 2031.

With these orders, the company will have 112 river ships in 2028 and 23 ocean and expedition ships in 2031.

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“Today, our river fleet consists of 85 vessels operating on rivers across the globe, from the Rhine to the Nile and from the Danube to the Mekong,” Hagen added. Viking started with just four riverships in 1997, Hagen said.

Viking shares are up 32% this year and have climbed about 61% from this time in 2024.

UBS raised its price target on Viking to $69 from $55 and affirmed a buy rating on the shares after the earnings report, which it said “[displayed] the resilience of the luxury consumer.”

Morgan Stanley raised its target on Viking Holdings to $66 from $62 and maintained an overweight rating on the shares. And JP Morgan raised its price target on Viking to $72 from $61 and reiterated an overweight rating.