Marriott International vs Royal Caribbean Group

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Marriott International and Royal Caribbean Group side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:

Marriott International is the larger business, with $26.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $17.9B for Royal Caribbean Group.
Royal Caribbean Group grew revenue faster (8.8%, against 4.3%).
Royal Caribbean Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (27.4% operating margin, against 15.8%).
Marriott International turned more of its sales into free cash flow (10.0% FCF margin, against 6.9%).
Marriott International earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (27.4%, against 16.6%).
Investors pay more for each dollar of Marriott International’s earnings: a P/E of 40.8x 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.

Marriott International

MAR

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	MAR FY25	RCL FY25
Size
Market cap	$104.4B	$75.2B
Revenue	$26.2B	$17.9B
Free cash flow	$2.6B	$1.2B
Net income	$2.6B	$4.3B
Growth
Revenue growth	4.3%	8.8%
5-year growth	19.9%	52.0%
Share count change	−4.1%	−1.8%
Profitability
Gross margin	—	49.4%
Operating margin	15.8%	27.4%
Net margin	9.9%	23.8%
FCF margin	10.0%	6.9%
Return on capital	27.4%	16.6%
Return on equity	—	48.5%
Balance sheet
Net debt	$15.8B	$20.5B
Net debt / EBITDA	3.5x	3.1x
Dividends and buybacks	$4.0B	$2.0B
Valuation & quality
P/E	40.8x	17.3x
Piotroski F-score	7	9

Ten years

Revenue

FY16

MAR $15.4B

RCL $8.5B

FY17

MAR $20.5B

RCL $8.8B

FY18

MAR $20.8B

RCL $9.5B

FY19

MAR $21.0B

RCL $11.0B

FY20

MAR $10.6B

RCL $2.2B

FY21

MAR $13.9B

RCL $1.5B

FY22

MAR $20.8B

RCL $8.8B

FY23

MAR $23.7B

RCL $13.9B

FY24

MAR $25.1B

RCL $16.5B

FY25

MAR $26.2B

RCL $17.9B

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

MAR RCL

Operating margin

FY16

MAR 9.2%

RCL 17.4%

FY17

MAR 12.2%

RCL 19.9%

FY18

MAR 11.4%

RCL 20.0%

FY19

MAR 8.6%

RCL 19.0%

FY20

MAR 0.8%

RCL −208.3%

FY21

MAR 12.6%

RCL −252.6%

FY22

MAR 16.7%

RCL −8.7%

FY23

MAR 16.3%

RCL 20.7%

FY24

MAR 15.0%

RCL 24.9%

FY25

MAR 15.8%

RCL 27.4%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

MAR RCL

Free cash flow

FY16

MAR $1.4B

RCL $22.3M

FY17

MAR $2.0B

RCL $2.3B

FY18

MAR $1.8B

RCL −$181M

FY19

MAR $1.0B

RCL $692M

FY20

MAR $1.5B

RCL −$5.7B

FY21

MAR $994M

RCL −$4.1B

FY22

MAR $2.0B

RCL −$2.2B

FY23

MAR $2.7B

RCL $580M

FY24

MAR $2.0B

RCL $2.0B

FY25

MAR $2.6B

RCL $1.2B

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

MAR RCL

Return on capital

FY16

MAR 14.1%

RCL 6.7%

FY17

MAR 10.3%

RCL 7.6%

FY18

MAR 17.0%

RCL 7.5%

FY19

MAR 12.6%

RCL 7.4%

FY20

MAR 0.6%

RCL −15.4%

FY21

MAR 16.2%

RCL −12.8%

FY22

MAR 25.9%

RCL −2.5%

FY23

MAR 33.6%

RCL 11.4%

FY24

MAR 25.9%

RCL 15.2%

FY25

MAR 27.4%

RCL 16.6%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

MAR RCL

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.