Carnival vs Royal Caribbean Group
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Carnival is the larger business, with $26.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $17.9B for Royal Caribbean Group.
- Royal Caribbean Group grew revenue faster (8.8%, against 6.4%).
- Royal Caribbean Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (27.4% operating margin, against 16.8%).
- Carnival turned more of its sales into free cash flow (9.8% FCF margin, against 6.9%).
- Royal Caribbean Group earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (16.6%, against 12.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Royal Caribbean Group’s earnings: a P/E of 17.3x against 11.7x for Carnival.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Carnival
CCL
1/10
FCF margin
Royal Caribbean Group
RCL
9/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CCL FY25 | RCL FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $36.7B | $75.2B |
| Revenue | $26.6B | $17.9B |
| Free cash flow | $2.6B | $1.2B |
| Net income | $2.8B | $4.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 8.8% |
| 5-year growth | 36.6% | 52.0% |
| Share count change | 0.3% | −1.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 49.4% |
| Operating margin | 16.8% | 27.4% |
| Net margin | 10.4% | 23.8% |
| FCF margin | 9.8% | 6.9% |
| Return on capital | 12.1% | 16.6% |
| Return on equity | 25.6% | 48.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $25.5B | $20.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.5x | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $2.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 11.7x | 17.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 9 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.