Royal Caribbean Group
RCL NYSE Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines Financials FY2016–FY2025
Royal Caribbean Group's revenue rose 8.8% to $17.9 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 27.4%, up from 24.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.2 billion, down 38.1%. It paid out $2.0 billion in dividends and buybacks, 160% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.8%.
What Royal Caribbean Group does
Royal Caribbean Group sells cruise vacations. It owns three global brands: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea. Royal Caribbean aims at families and couples with casual ships. Celebrity Cruises sells a more upscale experience. Silversea runs smaller, luxury and expedition ships to remote places such as Antarctica. Ships call on more than 1,000 destinations on all seven continents, and the company also owns private land-based destinations for its guests.
The company earns its money from cruise vacations and runs its three global brands as a single business. It also owns half of TUI Cruises, a joint venture with a German tourism company that sells cruises to German guests under the TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises names. Together the brands run 69 ships. The company says its main cruise competitors are Carnival, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Viking and Virgin Voyages. It also competes with resorts, hotels, theme parks and other ways to spend leisure time.
The company has more ships on order, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and TUI Cruises vessels due between 2026 and 2032. It has also started a river cruise line under the Celebrity name. Most guests of its global brands come from North America. It sells in other countries through its own staff and independent representatives, and relies on travel advisors to sell its cruises.
- Legal name
- ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Feb 11, 2026
- Accession · CIK
- 0000884887-26-000007
0000884887
Revenue and margins
Royal Caribbean Group had $17.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 8.8% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 11.4% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $1.2B in fiscal 2025, 6.9% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Royal Caribbean Group returned $2.0B to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 160% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.8%.
Value Royal Caribbean Group yourself
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
Discounted cash flow
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$20.5B and divides by 274.0M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Earnings multiple
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 17.1x · peers 28.5x · sector 17.9x.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Royal Caribbean Group can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $2.7B | $1.9B | $497M | $388M | $825M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $21.1B | $23.4B | $21.5B | $20.1B | $21.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 33.5x | 4.8x | 3.5x | 3.1x |
| Debt / equity | 4.2x | 8.2x | 4.5x | 2.7x | 2.1x |
| Interest coverage | −3.0x | −0.6x | 2.1x | 2.6x | 5.0x |
| Current ratio | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Quick ratio | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Total assets | $32.3B | $33.8B | $35.1B | $37.1B | $41.6B |
| Total liabilities | $27.2B | $30.9B | $30.2B | $29.3B | $31.4B |
| Shareholders' equity | $5.1B | $2.9B | $4.7B | $7.6B | $10.0B |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $18.4B | $21.5B | $21.0B | $19.7B | $20.5B |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$524M
4 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2026 | Michael W BayleyPres&CEO, Royal Caribbean Intl | Sold | 12,811 | $315.99 | $4.0M | Form 4 |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 245,476 | $311.54 | $76.5M | Form 4 |
| Feb 26, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 356,026 | $318.39 | $113M | Form 4 |
| Feb 25, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 170,105 | $315.92 | $53.7M | Form 4 |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 345,111 | $315.73 | $109M | Form 4 |
| Feb 23, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 19,140 | $317.30 | $6.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 20, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 109,297 | $314.81 | $34.4M | Form 4 |
| Feb 19, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 101,902 | $312.09 | $31.8M | Form 4 |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 104,540 | $321.64 | $33.6M | Form 4 |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector | Sold | 180,000 | $325.09 | $58.5M | Form 4 |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Laura H BethgePresident, Celebrity Cruises | Sold | 7,854 | $326.21 | $2.6M | Form 4 |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Maritza Gomez MontielDirector | Sold | 1,385 | $327.18 | $0.5M | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Share count didn't rise | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gross margin rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| F-score | 7 / 9 | 8 / 9 | 9 / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −8.1% | −6.6% | −5.6% |
| Altman Z'' | −0.70 | −0.18 | 0.05 |
Similar companies
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean Group RCL | $74.1B | 8.8% | 27.4% | 6.9% | 16.6% | 17.1x | 9 | |
| Expedia Group EXPE | $35.4B | 7.6% | 12.7% | 21.1% | 40.5% | 18.0x | 8 | Compare → |
| Marriott International MAR | $103.3B | 4.3% | 15.8% | 10.0% | 27.4% | 40.4x | 7 | Compare → |
| Airbnb ABNB | $102.7B | 10.3% | 20.8% | — | — | 39.1x | 6 | Compare → |
| Carnival CCL | $35.7B | 6.4% | 16.8% | 9.8% | 12.1% | 11.4x | 7 | Compare → |
10 years of figures
US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $8.5B | $8.8B | $9.5B | $11.0B | $2.2B | $1.5B | $8.8B | $13.9B | $16.5B | $17.9B |
| Gross profit | $3.5B | $3.9B | $4.2B | $4.9B | −$556M | −$1.2B | $2.2B | $6.1B | $7.8B | $8.9B |
| Operating income | $1.5B | $1.7B | $1.9B | $2.1B | −$4.6B | −$3.9B | −$766M | $2.9B | $4.1B | $4.9B |
| Interest expense | $307M | $300M | $334M | $409M | $844M | $1.3B | $1.4B | $1.4B | $1.6B | $992M |
| Pretax income | — | — | — | — | — | −$5.3B | −$2.2B | $1.7B | $2.9B | $4.4B |
| Income tax | — | — | — | — | — | −$45.0M | $4.0M | $6.0M | $46.0M | $82.0M |
| Net income | $1.3B | $1.6B | $1.8B | $1.9B | −$5.8B | −$5.3B | −$2.2B | $1.7B | $2.9B | $4.3B |
| Diluted EPS | $5.93 | $7.53 | $8.56 | $8.95 | −$27.05 | −$20.89 | −$8.45 | $6.31 | $10.94 | $15.61 |
| Diluted shares | 0.22B | 0.22B | 0.21B | 0.21B | 0.21B | 0.25B | 0.26B | 0.28B | 0.28B | 0.27B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $2.5B | $2.9B | $3.5B | $3.7B | −$3.7B | −$1.9B | $481M | $4.5B | $5.3B | $6.5B |
| Capital expenditure | $2.5B | $564M | $3.7B | $3.0B | $2.0B | $2.2B | $2.7B | $3.9B | $3.3B | $5.2B |
| Free cash flow | $22.3M | $2.3B | −$181M | $692M | −$5.7B | −$4.1B | −$2.2B | $580M | $2.0B | $1.2B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $895M | $951M | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.7B |
| Stock-based compensation | $32.7M | $69.5M | $46.1M | $75.9M | $39.8M | $64.0M | $36.0M | $126M | $267M | $175M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $0.0M | $916M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $300M | $225M | $575M | $99.6M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $1.2B |
| Dividends paid | $347M | $438M | $528M | $603M | $326M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $107M | $824M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $646M | $662M | $1.1B | $702M | $326M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $107M | $2.0B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $133M | $120M | $288M | $244M | $3.7B | $2.7B | $1.9B | $497M | $388M | $825M |
| Total debt | $9.4B | $7.5B | $10.8B | $11.0B | $19.3B | $21.1B | $23.4B | $21.5B | $20.1B | $21.3B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $230M | $213M | $472M | $351M | $369M | $117M | $159M |
| Current assets | $748M | $908M | $1.2B | $1.2B | $4.3B | $3.6B | $3.2B | $1.8B | $1.7B | $2.2B |
| Current liabilities | $4.4B | $4.9B | $7.1B | $8.0B | $4.5B | $7.3B | $8.6B | $9.4B | $9.8B | $12.1B |
| Inventory | $114M | $111M | $154M | $162M | $119M | $150M | $224M | $248M | $265M | $264M |
| Property and equipment, net | $20.2B | $19.7B | $23.5B | $25.5B | $25.2B | $25.9B | $27.5B | $30.1B | $31.8B | $35.7B |
| Total assets | $22.3B | $22.4B | $27.7B | $30.3B | $32.5B | $32.3B | $33.8B | $35.1B | $37.1B | $41.6B |
| Total liabilities | $13.2B | $11.7B | $16.1B | $17.6B | $23.7B | $27.2B | $30.9B | $30.2B | $29.3B | $31.4B |
| Shareholders' equity | $9.1B | $10.7B | $11.1B | $12.2B | $8.8B | $5.1B | $2.9B | $4.7B | $7.6B | $10.0B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 41.0% | 44.2% | 44.6% | 44.6% | −25.2% | −78.8% | 25.2% | 44.1% | 47.5% | 49.4% |
| Operating margin | 17.4% | 19.9% | 20.0% | 19.0% | −208.3% | −252.6% | −8.7% | 20.7% | 24.9% | 27.4% |
| EBITDA margin | 27.9% | 30.7% | 30.9% | 30.4% | −150.4% | −168.2% | 7.3% | 31.2% | 34.6% | 37.0% |
| Net margin | 15.1% | 18.5% | 19.1% | 17.2% | −262.5% | −343.3% | −24.4% | 12.2% | 17.5% | 23.8% |
| FCF margin | 0.3% | 26.3% | −1.9% | 6.3% | −257.9% | −268.2% | −25.2% | 4.2% | 12.1% | 6.9% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 6.7% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 7.4% | −15.4% | −12.8% | −2.5% | 11.4% | 15.2% | 16.6% |
| Return on capital employed | 8.6% | 9.9% | 10.0% | 9.7% | −18.3% | −14.6% | −3.1% | 11.3% | 15.5% | 17.3% |
| Return on equity | 14.9% | 16.4% | 16.6% | 16.2% | −55.4% | −76.0% | −54.2% | 44.7% | 46.8% | 48.5% |
| Return on assets | 6.0% | 7.3% | 7.2% | 6.5% | −18.5% | −16.3% | −6.5% | 4.9% | 8.0% | 10.9% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 2.4% | 3.3% | 8.2% | 15.3% | −79.8% | −30.6% | 477.0% | 57.2% | 18.6% | 8.8% |
| Net income growth | 92.8% | 26.6% | 11.4% | 3.8% | −408.6% | — | — | — | 69.5% | 48.4% |
| EPS growth | 96.4% | 27.0% | 13.7% | 4.6% | −402.2% | — | — | — | 73.4% | 42.7% |
| FCF growth | −93.3% | 10,248.1% | −107.8% | — | −923.6% | — | — | — | 244.3% | −38.1% |
| Share count change | −2.0% | −0.3% | −1.9% | −0.8% | 2.1% | 17.6% | 1.2% | 11.0% | −1.4% | −1.8% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.9x | 2.8x | 3.6x | 3.2x | — | — | 33.5x | 4.8x | 3.5x | 3.1x |
| Debt / equity | 1.0x | 0.7x | 1.0x | 0.9x | 2.2x | 4.2x | 8.2x | 4.5x | 2.7x | 2.1x |
| Interest coverage | 4.8x | 5.8x | 5.7x | 5.1x | −5.5x | −3.0x | −0.6x | 2.1x | 2.6x | 5.0x |
| Current ratio | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 1.0x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Quick ratio | 0.1x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.1x | 0.9x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 29.4% | 6.4% | 38.6% | 27.6% | 89.0% | 145.6% | 30.7% | 28.0% | 19.8% | 29.2% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 4.2% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.0% |
| Payouts / FCF | 2,895.4% | 28.7% | — | 101.5% | — | — | — | 0.0% | 5.4% | 160.4% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | −0.1 | −1.3 | −1.3 | −0.7 | −0.2 | 0.1 |
| Accruals ratio | −5.7% | −5.6% | −6.7% | −6.3% | −6.6% | −10.5% | −8.0% | −8.1% | −6.6% | −5.6% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000884887). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.