Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)
Consumer Discretionary · Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines · US stock · S&P 500 component
$276.48
▼ -9.65 (3.37%)
Fair valueFair
$265 −4.3% to fair value
$132fair band $225–$321$397
Day's range
$274.20 – $280.00
52-week range
$222.22 – $356.39
About Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Royal Caribbean Group operates cruise lines that carry holidaymakers on ships to destinations around the world. Its brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, covering mainstream, premium and luxury sailings. It also develops private destinations for its guests. Customers are families, couples and groups who book cruises through travel advisers and online.
Revenue comes from cruise tickets and from onboard spending on drinks, dining, excursions, casinos and similar extras. Revenue was $18.7 billion over the last twelve months, with growth of 26.6% a year across the last three years. The operating margin is 27.3%, and the business earns a profit of 13% on the capital invested in it. Net debt is 3.2 times EBITDA. It pays a dividend with a yield of 2.0%. On the site's X-Ray Score it receives 44 out of 100.
RCL news
Crude oil in focus as stockpile draw, export data and warning reports collideCrude oil in focus as export and stockpile reports divergeCrude oil reports diverge as diplomacy hopes meet supply riskCrude oil slips as traders watch Middle East diplomacy
All RCL news →Price chart
52-wk range $222.22 – $356.39Volume 1,678,280Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$74.1B
52-week range$222.22 – $356.39
Volume (last day)1,678,280
P/E (TTM)17.1
EBIT / EV yield5.3%
Free-cash-flow yield-0.6%
Dividend yield2.0%
Revenue (TTM)$18.7B
Net income (TTM)$4.4B
Operating margin27.3%
Return on capital12.5%
Debt incl. leases$22.8B
Cash & securities$875M
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies that hold large long-term investments). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$265middle half of models $214 – $306
Fair
−4.3% to fair value
Average of the 14 valuation models that pass our checks: multiples, discounted cash flow, dividend discount and earnings power value. A model more than 100% above or 60% below the price is left out as unrealistic. Model uncertainty is High, based on how far apart the models are. Undervalued or Overvalued means the gap to fair value is more than 17.5%.
Price $276
Undervalued < $225Fair $225 – $321Overvalued > $321
P/E multiple
$282
P/B multiple
$279
P/S multiple
$258
EV/EBITDA multiple
$354
EV/EBIT multiple
$313
EV/revenue multiple
$263
10-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$153
5-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$264
10-year DCF, revenue exit
$199
5-year DCF, revenue exit
$280
10-year DCF, growth exit · not used
$42
5-year DCF, growth exit
$139
Dividend discount, stable
$367
Dividend discount, multi-stage
$377
Earnings power value
$174
Growth the price implies
14.9%/yr
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 4.96%, equity risk premium 4.30% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Weak business, fairly priced
The price sits inside our fair-value band. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Consumer Discretionary peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Strong: 70 to 100Fair: 50 to 69Weak: under 50No score: not enough data
Valuation
Weak
25/100
Expensive against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield5.3%
Free-cash-flow yield-0.6%
Fair value vs price1.0×
Growth
Strong
79/100
Growing faster than most of its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)26.6%
Growth consistency100%
Profitability
Weak
38/100
Earns lower returns on its capital than most peers.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital12.5%
Operating margin27.3%
Gross profitability20.5%
Financial health
Weak
42/100
Balance sheet is more stretched than most peers.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score8 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA3.2×
Interest cover5.0×
Dividends
Weak
38/100
Dividend is modest or less certain than peers.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield2.0%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
+7.3%
Mar '25
+10.4%
Jun '25
+5.2%
Sep '25
+13.3%
Dec '25
+11.3%
Mar '26
+6.5%
Jun '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $4.8B, diluted EPS $4.20.
Compare with peers
BKNG Booking Holdings Inc.70 EXPE Expedia Group, Inc.62 CCL Carnival Corp Ltd.56 ABNB Airbnb, Inc.52Other Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines companies by X-Ray Score.
SWOT analysis: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Strengthsinside the company
- Operating margin of 27.3% is well above the 16.0% median of industry peers, a sign of pricing power or lower costs.
- Revenue has grown 26.6% a year over three years (median 13.4% for industry peers).
- Passes 8 of the 9 Piotroski tests, which points to improving profitability, funding and efficiency.
Weaknessesinside the company
- Free cash flow is negative, so spending or debt has to be financed from outside.
- Altman Z-score of 0.3 is in the zone linked with financial distress in past studies.
Opportunitiesvaluation and setting
- Trades at 16.8x earnings, 39% below the 27.7x median of industry peers.
Threatsvaluation and setting
- Revenue growth slowed to 8.8% last year from 26.6% a year over three years.
- Valuation uncertainty is high: the models give widely different values, so the fair value range is wide.
Written by fixed rules from the figures on this page and the peer table below: filings, our fair value, the sector climate and the price trend. It summarises the data, it is not a forecast or advice.
Compare RCL with peers and sector
Medians of 7 Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines peers and of 46 Consumer Discretionary stocks in our universe.
Largest peers (X-Ray Score): BKNG 70, MAR 42, ABNB 52, HLT 39, CCL 56, EXPE 62.
| Metric | RCL | Peers | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Score (out of 100) | 44 | 52 | 50 |
| Valuation | 25 | 61 | 50 |
| Growth | 79 | 67 | 50 |
| Profitability | 38 | 52 | 52 |
| Financial health | 42 | 43 | 50 |
| Dividends | 38 | 41 | 52 |
Sector leaders: highest X-Ray Score in Consumer Discretionary
RCL ranks #33 of 47 in Consumer Discretionary and #6 of 8 in Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines by X-Ray Score. A higher score is stronger on our five pillars; it is a ranking of facts, not a forecast.
Green means better than the peer median, red worse (only where a higher or lower figure is clearly better). A dash means too few companies report the figure. P/E, EV/EBITDA and price changes are not graded: a different level is not good or bad by itself.
Factor ratings for RCL
Each factor is rated by where RCL stands among the 47 Consumer Discretionary stocks in our universe.
Rating against the sector
Goodthe top third of these stocks
Averagethe middle third of these stocks
Badthe bottom third of these stocks
"Beats" is the share of those stocks it is ahead of.
Against its own history
The last columns set today's figure against the company's own median of its last five financial years:
▲ Betterbetter than its usual level
▼ Worseworse than its usual level
≈ In linewithin its usual range
For valuation factors Good means cheaper than most of the sector and Better means cheaper than usual for this company, which is not the same as a bargain.
In total: 7 Good · 7 Average · 7 Bad of 21
Growth: 2 · 0 · 0
Profitability: 2 · 2 · 1
Financial strength: 1 · 0 · 3
Valuation: 1 · 2 · 2
Cash flow: 0 · 2 · 1
Efficiency: 1 · 1 · 0
| Factor | RCL | Rating | Sector median | Own 5-year median | Against own history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | |||||
| Revenue growth, 3 years a year | +26.6% | Good beats 90% | +6.5% | – | – |
| Revenue growth, last year | +8.8% | Good beats 71% | +4.9% | +18.6% | ▼ Worse |
| Profitability | |||||
| Gross margin | 49.1% | Average beats 60% | 42.5% | 44.1% | ▲ Better |
| Operating margin | 27.3% | Good beats 92% | 14.9% | 20.7% | ▲ Better |
| Net margin | 23.5% | Good beats 95% | 11.4% | 12.2% | ▲ Better |
| Return on invested capital | 12.5% | Bad beats 27% | 24.6% | – | – |
| Return on equity | 43.0% | Average beats 63% | 35.3% | 35.9% | ▲ Better |
| Financial strength | |||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.2x | Bad beats 26% | 1.8x | 4.1x | ▲ Better |
| Interest cover | 5.0x | Bad beats 15% | 25.3x | 2.1x | ▲ Better |
| Current ratio | 0.21 | Bad beats 3% | 1.10 | 0.19 | ≈ In line |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 / 9 | Good beats 92% | 6 / 9 | – | – |
| Valuation | |||||
| P/E ratio | 16.8x | Good beats 68% | 20.6x | 21.6x | ▲ Better |
| Price / book | 7.2x | Average beats 49% | 7.0x | 7.6x | ≈ In line |
| Price / sales | 4.0x | Bad beats 22% | 2.1x | 3.9x | ≈ In line |
| EV / EBITDA | 13.9x | Average beats 54% | 14.7x | 14.7x | ≈ In line |
| Free cash flow yield | -0.6% | Bad beats 3% | 4.5% | 1.6% | ▼ Worse |
| Cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow margin | -2.2% | Bad beats 3% | 10.8% | 4.2% | ▼ Worse |
| Cash from operations / net income | 1.54 | Average beats 63% | 1.37 | 1.83 | ▼ Worse |
| Accruals (lower is better) | −5.3% | Average beats 51% | −5.3% | – | – |
| Efficiency | |||||
| Inventory turnover | 35.6x | Good beats 93% | 4.2x | 31.4x | ▲ Better |
| Days sales outstanding | 9 days | Average beats 66% | 14 days | 11 days | ≈ In line |
These ratings compare companies with each other and describe the past; they are not a forecast, a recommendation or part of the X-Ray Score. A factor is left out when its data is missing or meaningless (for example a P/E on negative earnings). A dash in the history columns means fewer than three usable years.
Fundamentals checklist
● 4 Good · ● 2 Average · ● 8 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashAverage
Free-cash-flow yieldBad
Risk models
Altman Z''Bad
Piotroski F-ScoreGood
Growth
Revenue growth (3y)Good
Growth consistencyGood
Balance sheet
Current ratioBad
Net debt / EBITDABad
Interest coverBad
Valuation
Fair value vs priceBad
EBIT / EV yieldAverage
Profitability
Return on invested capitalBad
Operating marginGood
Gross profitabilityBad
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 45/100.
Financials
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.5B | $8.8B | $13.9B | $16.5B | $17.9B |
| Operating income | −$3.9B | −$766M | $2.9B | $4.1B | $4.9B |
| Net income | −$5.3B | −$2.2B | $1.7B | $2.9B | $4.3B |
| Operating cash flow | −$1.9B | $481M | $4.5B | $5.3B | $6.5B |
| Operating margin | -252.6% | -8.7% | 20.7% | 24.9% | 27.4% |
| Free cash flow | −$4.1B | −$2.2B | $580M | $2.0B | $1.2B |
| Diluted EPS | $-20.89 | $-8.45 | $6.31 | $10.94 | $15.61 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Bearish
5 bullish · 2 neutral · 9 bearish
Weekly
Neutral
5 bullish · 1 neutral · 6 bearish
Monthly
Neutral
3 bullish · 1 neutral · 4 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 281.5 | Bearish |
| EMA 10 | 281.0 | Bearish |
| SMA 20 | 277.1 | Bearish |
| EMA 20 | 276.8 | Bearish |
| SMA 50 | 271.1 | Bullish |
| EMA 50 | 275.6 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 285.4 | Bearish |
| EMA 100 | 278.8 | Bearish |
| SMA 200 | 283.9 | Bearish |
| EMA 200 | 279.9 | Bearish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 50.95 | Neutral |
| MACD (12, 26) | 4.69 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | -2.07 | Bearish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 16.28 | Bullish |
| Williams %R (14) | -83.72 | Bullish |
| CCI (20) | 1.33 | Neutral |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 268.0 | S2 271.1 | S1 273.8 | Pivot 276.9 | R1 279.6 | R2 282.7 | R3 285.4 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
5.50 USD
Yield on today's price
1.99%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
Not announced
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 1.5000 | |
| 1.5000 | |
| 1.5000 | |
| 1.0000 | |
| 1.0000 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.5500 | |
| 0.4000 | |
| 0.7800 | |
| 0.7800 | |
| 0.7800 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
ETFs that hold RCL
| ETF | Share of the fund |
|---|---|
| CGDV Capital Group Dividend Value | 2.83% |
| XLY Consumer Discretionary Select Sector S... | 1.97% |
| VOT Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth | 1.69% |
| RPG Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth | 1.48% |
| GARP iShares MSCI USA Quality GARP | 1.46% |
| FDIS Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary I... | 1.28% |
| IWP iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth | 1.24% |
| VCR Vanguard Consumer Discretionary | 1.11% |
The eight funds with the largest weight in RCL among the ETFs we cover, from each fund's latest SEC Form N-PORT (quarter-end positions, so they can be months old). All ETFs.
RCL stock splits
RCL has split its stock once since 1998. The latest was a 2-for-1 split on 3 Aug 1998.
Full RCL stock split history →RCL SEC filings
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
8-KSEC EDGAR
Entered a material agreement
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
8-KSEC EDGAR
Entered a material agreement
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.