Hilton Worldwide vs Royal Caribbean Group
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Hilton Worldwide and Royal Caribbean Group side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Royal Caribbean Group is the larger business, with $17.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $12.0B for Hilton Worldwide.
- Royal Caribbean Group grew revenue faster (8.8%, against 7.7%).
- Royal Caribbean Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (27.4% operating margin, against 22.4%).
- Hilton Worldwide turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.9% FCF margin, against 6.9%).
- Hilton Worldwide earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (31.1%, against 16.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Hilton Worldwide’s earnings: a P/E of 51.6x against 17.3x for Royal Caribbean Group.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Hilton Worldwide
HLT
3/9
FCF marginReturn on capitalShare count change
Royal Caribbean Group
RCL
6/9
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | HLT FY25 | RCL FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $80.6B | $75.2B |
| Revenue | $12.0B | $17.9B |
| Free cash flow | $2.0B | $1.2B |
| Net income | $1.5B | $4.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| 5-year growth | 22.8% | 52.0% |
| Share count change | −4.8% | −1.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 49.4% |
| Operating margin | 22.4% | 27.4% |
| Net margin | 12.1% | 23.8% |
| FCF margin | 16.9% | 6.9% |
| Return on capital | 31.1% | 16.6% |
| Return on equity | — | 48.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $11.4B | $20.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.0x | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $2.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 51.6x | 17.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 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.