RCL vs DIS vs NCLH Stock Comparison

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Walt Disney and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
$310.39 +19.0% 1M +10.8% 1Y
Market cap
$83.02B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.13B
Div. yield
1.77%
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
DIS Walt Disney Co
$110.91 +5.2% 1M +0.6% 1Y
Market cap
$191.51B
P/E
22.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$98.86B
Div. yield
1.35%
Film and Television Communication Services
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Royal Caribbean Cruises leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Royal Caribbean Cruises 7, Walt Disney 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.

QuestionRCLDISNCLHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $83.02B $191.51B $8.36B DIS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.2x 22.4x 9.9x NCLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.5x 15.0x 11.5x NCLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +4.6% +4.9% RCL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.8% 8.7% 8.3% RCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.3% -18.0% 7.9% RCL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x -1.2x 5.6x DIS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.77% 1.35% — RCL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +10.8% +0.6% -18.1% RCL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +29.8%/yr -8.1%/yr -6.7%/yr RCL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.9% 27.3% 56.2% DIS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 56/100 48/100 RCL

Percentile Scorecard

RCLDISNCLH

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

AxisRCLDISNCLH
Valuation 41 #17 of 28 40 #74 of 123 70 #9 of 28
Growth 63 #10 of 25 60 #43 of 107 58 #11 of 25
Profitability 96 #2 of 25 39 #65 of 105 54 #12 of 25
Financial Health 55 #14 of 30 64 #48 of 130 10 #27 of 30
Shareholder Returns 72 #6 of 19 80 #16 of 74 –
Overall 65 56 48
  • RCL ranked among 31 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • DIS ranked among 134 companies in Communication Services
  • NCLH 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

PeriodRCLDISNCLHSPY
1 month +19.0%+5.2%+22.9% +0.7%
3 months -3.6%+15.4%-2.8% +3.7%
6 months +17.7%+6.9%+0.1% +7.1%
Year to date +11.3%-2.5%-18.5% +12.8%
1 year +10.8%+0.6%-18.1% +11.9%
3 years +261.5%+37.5%+34.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +53.5%+11.2%+10.4% +22.8%
5 years +267.6%-34.4%-29.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +29.8%-8.1%-6.7% +10.9%
10 years +316.8%+18.2%-52.4% +262.0%
10 years, per year +15.3%+1.7%-7.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureRCLDISNCLHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.9%27.3%56.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.3%27.7%53.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.730.622.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.230.02-0.32 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.6%-55.2%-64.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.8%-4.9%-27.3% -1.2%
52-week high $348.03$116.65$25.02 $779.14
52-week low $230.35$92.42$14.12 $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.

MultipleRCLDISNCLH
P/E now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 18.4x 22.4xmedian 17.5x 9.9xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 1.5x 1.9xmedian 1.1x 0.8xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 14.6x -6.6xmedian 9.8x 8.7xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 55.0xmedian 17.0x 23.1xmedian 9.2x -14.8xmedian 17.0x
P/B now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 1.6x 2.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.30 0.38median 0.38 0.11median 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 monthsRCLDISNCLH
Revenue $19.13B $98.86B $10.16B
Gross profit $9.39B $43.29B $4.21B
Operating income $5.27B -$40.54B $1.41B
Net income $4.58B $9.24B $832.94M
Free cash flow $1.51B $8.29B -$564.22M
EPS (diluted) $16.98 $4.93 $1.84
Cash & equivalents $851.00M $5.19B $256.51M
Total debt $22.36B $46.04B $15.09B
Shares (diluted) 268.00M 1.74B 460.42M
Enterprise value $80.16B $176.08B $7.49B

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
MetricRCLDISNCLH
P/E 18.2x 22.4x 9.9x
P/FCF 55.0x 23.1x -14.8x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 11.3x 3.9x
P/S 4.3x 1.9x 0.8x
P/B 7.0x 1.6x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 7.0x 1.8x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 14.6x -6.6x 8.7x
EV/EBIT 19.8x -5.7x 16.5x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 2.4x 2.3x
EV/FCF 69.2x 28.0x -41.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.2x 13.7x 10.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 0.38 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRCLDISNCLH
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 4.6% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 4.0% 7.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.9% -6.5% 3.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 14.6% 15.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.6% -18.3% -11.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.5% 7.7% 38.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% -26.4% 25.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 70.4% 46.3% 81.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.4% -22.9% 34.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 58.8% 86.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.3% -11.3% 6.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 30.8% 3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -25.8% -28.2% 45.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% 42.8% -27.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRCLDISNCLH
Gross margin 49.1% 43.8% 41.4%
EBITDA margin 37.5% -35.4% 26.2%
Operating margin 27.6% -41.0% 13.8%
Pretax margin 24.4% 12.9% 8.1%
Net margin 23.8% 8.7% 8.3%
FCF margin 7.9% 8.4% -5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 36.0% 17.2% 21.3%
Return on equity 41.0% 8.0% 29.1%
Return on assets 10.2% 4.5% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 15.3% -18.0% 7.9%
Return on capital employed 15.8% -23.9% 7.7%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.8x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 1.5% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRCLDISNCLH
Debt / assets 49.9% 22.5% 62.8%
Debt / equity 1.9x 0.4x 4.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x -1.2x 5.6x
Debt / FCF 14.8x 5.6x -26.7x
Liabilities / assets 73.4% 42.9% 86.9%
Equity / assets 26.6% 57.1% 13.1%
Interest coverage 4.9x – –
Current ratio 0.2x 0.7x 0.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.36 1.52 0.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRCLDISNCLH
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.4% –
Net buyback yield 1.9% 4.3% –
Shareholder yield 3.6% 5.7% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 18.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 20.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 109.9% –
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.

ConsensusRCLDISNCLH
Forward P/E 16.5xFY2026 15.0xFY2026 11.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.80FY2026 $7.38FY2026 $1.58FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 -25.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.1% -2.6% -3.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.60BFY2026 $95.51BFY2026 $10.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.7%FY2026 +1.2%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.3% +14.2% +6.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRCLDISNCLH
Held by institutions 88.5% 75.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,227 2,944 640
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.3% +1.8% +6.9%
Institutions buying 607 1,213 293
Institutions selling 448 1,369 205
Buyers to sellers 1.35 0.89 1.43

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.

RCLDISNCLH
RCL 1.00 0.32 0.75
DIS 0.32 1.00 0.29
NCLH 0.75 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RCL, DIS and NCLH?

Walt Disney (DIS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) $83.02B, Walt Disney (DIS) $191.51B, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) $8.36B.

Which stock is cheaper, RCL, DIS and NCLH?

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 18.2x, Walt Disney (DIS) 22.4x, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 9.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is cheapest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 16.5x, Walt Disney (DIS) 15.0x, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 11.5x). 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: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +9.7%, Walt Disney (DIS) +4.6%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest net margin (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 23.8%, Walt Disney (DIS) 8.7%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 8.3%). On return on invested capital, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) leads (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.3%, Walt Disney (DIS) -18.0%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 7.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) returned the most: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +10.8%, Walt Disney (DIS) +0.6%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -18.1%. Over five years, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) compounded fastest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +29.8%/yr, Walt Disney (DIS) -8.1%/yr, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) -6.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest dividend yield: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 1.77%, Walt Disney (DIS) 1.35%. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Walt Disney (DIS) has been the steadiest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 46.9%, Walt Disney (DIS) 27.3%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) 56.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.