NCLH vs LIND vs RCL Stock Comparison

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
$298.59 +23.0% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$83.07B
P/E
18.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.13B
Div. yield
–
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Royal Caribbean Cruises leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Royal Caribbean Cruises 6, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings 3, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNCLHLINDRCLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.34B $2.44B $83.07B RCL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 11.1x -120.6x 18.3x NCLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.2x 188.5x 15.9x NCLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.2% +18.3% +9.7% LIND
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.4% -2.4% 23.8% RCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% 12.3% 15.3% RCL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 2.7x 3.0x LIND
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.1% +194.3% +1.9% LIND
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.0%/yr +19.1%/yr +28.8%/yr RCL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.8% 50.6% 47.0% RCL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 46/100 66/100 RCL

Percentile Scorecard

NCLHLINDRCL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNCLHLINDRCL
Valuation 70 #9 of 28 48 #15 of 28 41 #17 of 28
Growth 54 #12 of 25 83 #5 of 25 67 #9 of 25
Profitability 54 #12 of 25 46 #14 of 25 96 #2 of 25
Financial Health 7 #28 of 30 52 #15 of 30 55 #14 of 30
Shareholder Returns – 0 #19 of 19 72 #6 of 19
Overall 46 46 66
  • NCLH ranked among 31 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • LIND ranked among 31 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • RCL ranked among 31 companies in Travel and Lodging

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNCLHLINDRCLSPY
1 month +12.4%+20.9%+23.0% +0.9%
3 months -22.6%+20.4%-7.8% +5.9%
6 months -9.5%+102.7%+17.6% +8.5%
Year to date -28.0%+148.4%+7.1% +13.3%
1 year -28.1%+194.3%+1.9% +12.4%
3 years +20.4%+517.6%+260.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +6.4%+83.5%+53.4% +23.5%
5 years -37.5%+139.6%+253.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -9.0%+19.1%+28.8% +11.0%
10 years -57.9%+335.8%+301.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year -8.3%+15.9%+14.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNCLHLINDRCLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.8%50.6%47.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.0%43.5%40.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.051.811.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.513.840.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.1%-68.8%-67.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.7%-1.5%-14.2% -0.9%
52-week high $25.02$36.37$348.03 $779.14
52-week low $14.12$11.45$230.35 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNCLHLINDRCL
P/E now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 18.2x -115.7xmedian 18.2x 17.5xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.5x 2.8xmedian 1.5x 4.2xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 14.1x 20.7xmedian 14.1x 14.1xmedian 14.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.2xmedian 16.4x 21.5xmedian 16.4x 52.9xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.5x -12.0xmedian 2.5x 6.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.23median 0.30 -3.05median 0.30 0.24median 0.30

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNCLHLINDRCL
Revenue $10.15B $830.61M $19.13B
Gross profit $4.31B $387.48M $9.39B
Operating income $1.53B $58.03M $5.27B
Net income $760.77M -$12.56M $4.58B
Free cash flow -$1.19B $109.03M $1.51B
EPS (diluted) $1.62 $-0.31 $16.98
Cash & equivalents $218.10M $318.89M $851.00M
Total debt $15.03B $663.87M $22.36B
Shares (diluted) 463.93M 65.47M 268.00M
Enterprise value $7.56B $1.33B $80.01B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNCLHLINDRCL
P/E 9.8x -115.7x 17.5x
P/FCF -6.2x 21.5x 52.9x
P/Operating cash flow 3.5x 16.5x 11.6x
P/S 0.7x 2.8x 4.2x
P/B 2.9x -12.0x 6.7x
P/Tangible book 3.6x -11.1x 6.7x
EV/EBITDA 8.1x 20.7x 14.1x
EV/EBIT 14.5x 46.4x 19.2x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 3.2x 5.3x
EV/FCF -18.7x 24.7x 67.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.5x 18.9x 14.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.23 -3.05 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNCLHLINDRCL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.2% 18.3% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 16.1% 13.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.0% 20.0% 9.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.3% 21.0% 19.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 0.1% 57.1% 14.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 118.1% 132.1% 31.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.8% -111.1% 12.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 42.5% 40.7% 70.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.3% -15.2% 14.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.2% 38.0% 73.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.3% 32.7% 9.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 376.8% 20.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -135.0% 86.0% -25.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -27.2% 77.1% -14.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNCLHLINDRCL
Gross margin 42.5% 46.6% 49.1%
EBITDA margin 27.1% 15.6% 37.5%
Operating margin 15.1% 7.0% 27.6%
Pretax margin 7.6% -1.1% 24.4%
Net margin 7.4% -2.4% 23.8%
FCF margin -11.7% 13.1% 7.9%
Operating cash flow margin 20.8% 17.2% 36.0%
Return on equity 30.4% – 41.0%
Return on assets 3.2% -1.2% 10.2%
Return on invested capital 8.6% 12.3% 15.3%
Return on capital employed 8.7% 11.9% 15.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.8x -11.3x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.0% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNCLHLINDRCL
Debt / assets 62.6% 64.2% 49.9%
Debt / equity 5.8x -3.4x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 2.7x 3.0x
Debt / FCF -12.7x 6.1x 14.8x
Liabilities / assets 89.3% 118.9% 73.4%
Equity / assets 10.7% -18.9% 26.6%
Interest coverage – – 4.9x
Current ratio 0.2x 0.8x 0.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.6x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.28 1.48 2.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNCLHLINDRCL
Dividend yield – – 1.8%
Net buyback yield – -0.3% 1.9%
Shareholder yield – -0.3% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNCLHLINDRCL
Forward P/E 10.2xFY2026 188.5xFY2026 15.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.58FY2026 $0.19FY2026 $18.80FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -25.1%FY2026 – +20.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.8% +184.2% +10.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.34BFY2026 $919.42MFY2026 $18.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 +19.2%FY2026 +3.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% -1.1% +8.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNCLHLINDRCL
Held by institutions 100.0% 80.4% 88.5%
Institutions holding 639 224 1,226
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.9% +10.0% +6.3%
Institutions buying 293 147 607
Institutions selling 205 56 447
Buyers to sellers 1.43 2.63 1.36

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NCLHLINDRCL
NCLH 1.00 0.56 0.76
LIND 0.56 1.00 0.57
RCL 0.76 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NCLH, LIND and RCL?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) $8.34B, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) $2.44B, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) $83.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, NCLH, LIND and RCL?

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 11.1x, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) -120.6x, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 18.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is cheapest (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 10.2x, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) 188.5x, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) +6.2%, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) +18.3%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest net margin (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 7.4%, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) -2.4%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 23.8%). On return on invested capital, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) leads (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 8.6%, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) 12.3%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) returned the most: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -28.1%, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) +194.3%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +1.9%. Over five years, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) compounded fastest (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -9.0%/yr, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) +19.1%/yr, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +28.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has been the steadiest (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 54.8%, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings (LIND) 50.6%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 47.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NCLH, LIND and RCL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.