Shares of Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE: CCL) sold off hard following its recent third-quarter earnings report last week.

Yet for some perspective, Carnival's stock is actually still up a whopping 70% on the year. But that's also misleading in the grand scheme of things, as shares are still off 80% from their all-time pre-pandemic highs.

Carnival's stock is still vulnerable due to its massive $30 billion-plus debt load it had to accumulate during the pandemic. Now that we're on the other side of the pandemic and getting back to "normal," it's no surprise there's volatility. On the one hand, when companies successfully pay down their debt, their stocks can skyrocket, as more of their enterprise value goes to equity holders, and the lower risk after paying down debt can often result in higher multiples.

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Source Fool.com