NCLH vs RCL Stock Comparison

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
$276.50 +20.0% 1M -12.7% 1Y
Market cap
$75.33B
P/E
17.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.68B
Div. yield
–
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Royal Caribbean Cruises leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Royal Caribbean Cruises 9, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNCLHRCLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.01B $75.33B RCL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.3x 17.1x NCLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.5x 14.7x NCLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.2% +8.7% RCL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.4% 23.5% RCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% 15.6% RCL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 3.1x RCL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -35.7% -12.7% RCL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.0%/yr +26.7%/yr RCL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.8% 47.5% RCL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 66/100 RCL

Percentile Scorecard

NCLHRCL

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

AxisNCLHRCL
Valuation 71 #9 of 29 50 #15 of 29
Growth 56 #12 of 26 64 #10 of 26
Profitability 56 #12 of 26 92 #3 of 26
Financial Health 7 #29 of 31 50 #16 of 31
Shareholder Returns – 74 #6 of 20
Overall 48 66
  • NCLH ranked among 32 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • RCL ranked among 32 companies in Travel and Lodging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNCLHRCLSPY
1 month +6.5%+20.0% -1.0%
3 months -22.2%-5.8% +2.9%
6 months -18.5%+4.0% +6.4%
Year to date -32.4%-0.9% +11.4%
1 year -35.7%-12.7% +13.1%
3 years +8.2%+235.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.7%+49.7% +21.5%
5 years -40.8%+226.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -10.0%+26.7% +10.9%
10 years -60.3%+298.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year -8.8%+14.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNCLHRCLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.8%47.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.1%42.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.011.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.65-0.27 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.1%-67.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.7%-20.6% -2.5%
52-week high $25.02$348.03 $779.14
52-week low $14.12$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.

MultipleNCLHRCL
P/E now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 18.8x 16.8xmedian 18.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.5x 4.0xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 15.0x 13.7xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -5.8xmedian 16.0x -177.8xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 2.5x 7.1xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.22median 0.37 0.05median 0.37

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 monthsNCLHRCL
Revenue $10.15B $18.68B
Gross profit $4.31B $9.17B
Operating income $1.53B $5.10B
Net income $760.77M $4.43B
Free cash flow -$1.19B -$416.00M
EPS (diluted) $1.62 $16.41
Cash & equivalents $218.10M $875.00M
Total debt $15.03B $85.57B
Shares (diluted) 463.93M 268.00M
Enterprise value $6.23B $72.69B

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
MetricNCLHRCL
P/E 9.2x 16.8x
P/FCF -5.8x -177.8x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x 10.9x
P/S 0.7x 4.0x
P/B 2.7x 7.1x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 7.1x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 13.7x
EV/EBIT 14.2x 18.8x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 5.1x
EV/FCF -18.3x -230.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.3x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.22 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNCLHRCL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.2% 8.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 15.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.0% 9.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.3% 26.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 0.1% 12.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 118.1% 55.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.8% 22.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 42.5% 342.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.3% 25.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.2% 338.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.3% 18.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 28.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -135.0% -111.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -27.2% -30.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNCLHRCL
Gross margin 42.5% 49.1%
EBITDA margin 27.1% 37.4%
Operating margin 15.1% 27.3%
Pretax margin 7.6% 22.8%
Net margin 7.4% 23.5%
FCF margin -11.7% -2.2%
Operating cash flow margin 20.8% 36.3%
Return on equity 30.4% 43.2%
Return on assets 3.2% 10.2%
Return on invested capital 8.6% 15.6%
Return on capital employed 8.7% 16.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.8x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNCLHRCL
Debt / assets 62.6% 51.2%
Debt / equity 5.8x 2.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 3.1x
Debt / FCF -12.7x -54.9x
Liabilities / assets 89.3% 76.6%
Equity / assets 10.7% 23.4%
Interest coverage – 5.0x
Current ratio 0.2x 0.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.27 2.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNCLHRCL
Dividend yield – 2.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.6%
Shareholder yield – 4.6%
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.

ConsensusNCLHRCL
Forward P/E 9.5xFY2026 14.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.59FY2026 $18.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -24.6%FY2026 +20.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +10.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.34BFY2026 $18.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 +3.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% +8.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNCLHRCL
Held by institutions 100.0% 88.5%
Institutions holding 639 1,224
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.9% +6.3%
Institutions buying 293 606
Institutions selling 205 446
Buyers to sellers 1.43 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.

NCLHRCL
NCLH 1.00 0.75
RCL 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NCLH and RCL?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) $7.01B, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) $75.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, NCLH and RCL?

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 9.3x, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 17.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is cheapest (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 9.5x, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 14.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) +6.2%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +8.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest net margin (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 7.4%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 23.5%). On return on invested capital, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) leads (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 8.6%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) returned the most: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -35.7%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) -12.7%. Over five years, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) compounded fastest (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -10.0%/yr, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +26.7%/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%, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 47.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do NCLH and RCL move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.75, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, NCLH 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 9. 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.