Should You Buy Carnival Cruises Before It Goes Back Up?

In the best interest of long-term shareholders, we are making disciplined decisions to optimize our performance in the short-term while leaving us best positioned to capture the full benefit of global travel and tourism growth over the long-term.

The above quotation comes from Carnival Corporation 's (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) 2019 annual report, published Feb. 26, 2020. It mentions the "short-term," but little did the company know what was just around the corner. On March 13, Carnival paused its cruises in North America due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. They've been on hold ever since as the company burns through hundreds of millions in cash every month.

Carnival stock has been decimated, and many investors are naturally wondering if they should buy before it goes back up. That question assumes it will go back up, and that's not a given.