Hilton Worldwide vs Norwegian Cruise Line
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The short version
- Hilton Worldwide is the larger business, with $12.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $9.8B for Norwegian Cruise Line.
- Hilton Worldwide grew revenue faster (7.7%, against 3.7%).
- Hilton Worldwide kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (22.4% operating margin, against 15.9%).
- Hilton Worldwide turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.9% FCF margin, against −11.9%).
- Hilton Worldwide earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (31.1%, against 9.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Hilton Worldwide’s earnings: a P/E of 51.3x against 9.3x for Norwegian Cruise Line.
| Latest fiscal year | HLT · FY25 | NCLH · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $80.1B | $7.0B |
| Revenue | $12.0B | $9.8B |
| Free cash flow | $2.0B | −$1.2B |
| Net income | $1.5B | $423M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 7.7% | 3.7% |
| 5-year growth | 22.8% | 50.3% |
| Share count change | −4.8% | −7.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 42.6% |
| Operating margin | 22.4% | 15.9% |
| Net margin | 12.1% | 4.3% |
| FCF margin | 16.9% | −11.9% |
| Return on capital | 31.1% | 9.8% |
| Return on equity | — | 23.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $11.4B | $14.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.0x | 5.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 51.3x | 9.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
HLT $6.6B
NCLH $4.9B
FY17
HLT $8.1B
NCLH $5.4B
FY18
HLT $8.9B
NCLH $6.1B
FY19
HLT $9.5B
NCLH $6.5B
FY20
HLT $4.3B
NCLH $1.3B
FY21
HLT $5.8B
NCLH $648M
FY22
HLT $8.8B
NCLH $4.8B
FY23
HLT $10.2B
NCLH $8.5B
FY24
HLT $11.2B
NCLH $9.5B
FY25
HLT $12.0B
NCLH $9.8B
HLT
NCLH
Operating margin
FY16
HLT 13.2%
NCLH 19.0%
FY17
HLT 13.9%
NCLH 19.4%
FY18
HLT 16.1%
NCLH 20.1%
FY19
HLT 17.5%
NCLH 18.2%
FY20
HLT −9.7%
NCLH −272.2%
FY21
HLT 17.5%
NCLH −393.9%
FY22
HLT 23.9%
NCLH −32.0%
FY23
HLT 21.7%
NCLH 10.9%
FY24
HLT 21.2%
NCLH 15.5%
FY25
HLT 22.4%
NCLH 15.9%
HLT
NCLH
Free cash flow
FY16
HLT $993M
NCLH $172M
FY17
HLT $791M
NCLH $229M
FY18
HLT $1.2B
NCLH $508M
FY19
HLT $1.3B
NCLH $185M
FY20
HLT $662M
NCLH −$3.5B
FY21
HLT $74.0M
NCLH −$3.2B
FY22
HLT $1.6B
NCLH −$1.6B
FY23
HLT $1.8B
NCLH −$745M
FY24
HLT $1.9B
NCLH $839M
FY25
HLT $2.0B
NCLH −$1.2B
HLT
NCLH
Return on capital
FY16
HLT 6.6%
NCLH 8.8%
FY17
HLT 6.6%
NCLH 9.1%
FY18
HLT 18.9%
NCLH 9.8%
FY19
HLT 16.4%
NCLH 9.3%
FY20
HLT −5.2%
NCLH −21.0%
FY21
HLT 11.9%
NCLH −15.2%
FY22
HLT 23.4%
NCLH −9.3%
FY23
HLT 24.2%
NCLH 6.8%
FY24
HLT 33.6%
NCLH 10.1%
FY25
HLT 31.1%
NCLH 9.8%
HLT
NCLH
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.