RCL vs LVS vs CCL Stock Comparison

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Las Vegas Sands and Carnival Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
$298.59 +23.0% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$79.86B
P/E
17.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.13B
Div. yield
1.84%
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
LVS Las Vegas Sands Corp
$36.23 -6.6% 1M -37.7% 1Y
Market cap
$22.72B
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.60B
Div. yield
3.17%
Casinos Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
CCL Carnival Corp Ltd.
$28.08 +26.7% 1M +0.8% 1Y
Market cap
$37.76B
P/E
12.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.59B
Div. yield
1.60%
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Royal Caribbean Cruises leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Royal Caribbean Cruises 5, Las Vegas Sands 5, Carnival 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRCLLVSCCLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $79.86B $22.72B $37.76B RCL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.5x 14.4x 12.2x CCL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.9x 13.9x 13.1x CCL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +10.9% +5.2% LVS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.8% 11.8% 11.4% RCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.3% 14.9% 11.5% RCL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x 2.9x 3.1x LVS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.84% 3.17% 1.60% LVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.9% -37.7% +0.8% RCL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.8%/yr -1.4%/yr +4.9%/yr RCL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 31.4% 49.1% LVS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 81/100 66/100 LVS

Percentile Scorecard

RCLLVSCCL

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

AxisRCLLVSCCL
Valuation 41 #17 of 28 86 #7 of 44 85 #5 of 28
Growth 67 #9 of 25 81 #9 of 43 75 #7 of 25
Profitability 96 #2 of 25 95 #3 of 42 71 #8 of 25
Financial Health 55 #14 of 30 59 #20 of 47 59 #13 of 30
Shareholder Returns 72 #6 of 19 85 #5 of 28 39 #12 of 19
Overall 66 81 66
  • RCL ranked among 31 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • LVS ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • CCL 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

PeriodRCLLVSCCLSPY
1 month +23.0%-6.6%+26.7% +0.9%
3 months -7.8%-25.4%+0.9% +5.9%
6 months +17.6%-32.6%+9.8% +8.5%
Year to date +7.1%-44.3%-8.1% +13.3%
1 year +1.9%-37.7%+0.8% +12.4%
3 years +260.6%-23.0%+152.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +53.4%-8.3%+36.2% +23.5%
5 years +253.7%-6.6%+26.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +28.8%-1.4%+4.9% +11.0%
10 years +301.0%-37.3%-42.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year +14.9%-4.6%-5.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureRCLLVSCCLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%31.4%49.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.6%35.5%44.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.740.572.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.04-1.200.02 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.6%-52.7%-74.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.2%-47.9%-17.4% -0.9%
52-week high $348.03$69.49$33.99 $779.14
52-week low $230.35$35.67$21.80 $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.

MultipleRCLLVSCCL
P/E now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 18.2x 14.4xmedian 16.8x 12.2xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.5x 1.7xmedian 1.9x 1.4xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 14.1x 8.0xmedian 10.2x 8.1xmedian 14.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 52.9xmedian 16.4x 9.4xmedian 11.2x 11.9xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.5x -66.0xmedian 2.2x 2.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.24median 0.30 0.34median 0.44 0.21median 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 monthsRCLLVSCCL
Revenue $19.13B $13.60B $27.59B
Gross profit $9.39B $6.46B –
Operating income $5.27B $2.85B $4.41B
Net income $4.58B $1.81B $3.14B
Free cash flow $1.51B $2.41B $3.18B
R&D – $180.00M –
EPS (diluted) $16.98 $2.52 $2.29
Cash & equivalents $851.00M $2.86B $1.22B
Total debt $22.36B $15.44B $23.91B
Shares (diluted) 268.00M 640.00M 1.37B
Enterprise value $77.00B $9.54B $30.96B

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
MetricRCLLVSCCL
P/E 17.5x 14.4x 12.2x
P/FCF 52.9x 9.4x 11.9x
P/Operating cash flow 11.6x 6.5x 5.5x
P/S 4.2x 1.7x 1.4x
P/B 6.7x -66.0x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 6.7x -66.0x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 8.0x 8.1x
EV/EBIT 19.2x 12.4x 13.7x
EV/Revenue 5.3x 2.6x 2.2x
EV/FCF 67.1x 14.7x 19.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.7x 10.1x 8.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.24 0.34 0.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRCLLVSCCL
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 10.9% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 16.6% 11.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.9% 5.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 16.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.6% 5.4% 2.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.5% 25.6% 116.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% 0.2% 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 70.4% 39.4% 57.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.4% 10.9% 21.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 42.3% 58.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.3% 27.5% 21.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 18.1% 28.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -25.8% 86.1% 9.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% 23.5% 98.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRCLLVSCCL
Gross margin 49.1% 47.5% –
EBITDA margin 37.5% 32.4% 26.9%
Operating margin 27.6% 20.9% 16.0%
Pretax margin 24.4% 16.3% 11.5%
Net margin 23.8% 11.8% 11.4%
FCF margin 7.9% 17.7% 11.5%
Operating cash flow margin 36.0% 25.6% 24.7%
Return on equity 41.0% 656.1% 23.1%
Return on assets 10.2% 9.2% 6.1%
Return on invested capital 15.3% 14.9% 11.5%
Return on capital employed 15.8% 18.9% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.5% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRCLLVSCCL
Debt / assets 49.9% 79.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity 1.9x -44.9x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x 2.9x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 14.8x 6.4x 7.5x
Liabilities / assets 73.4% 101.8% 72.1%
Equity / assets 26.6% -1.8% 27.9%
Interest coverage 4.9x 3.8x 3.8x
Current ratio 0.2x 0.8x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.8x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.30 2.19 1.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRCLLVSCCL
Dividend yield 1.8% 3.2% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 12.0% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 15.2% 3.1%
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.

ConsensusRCLLVSCCL
Forward P/E 15.9xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 13.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.80FY2026 $2.60FY2026 $2.15FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 -13.6%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.1% +10.4% +15.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.60BFY2026 $14.18BFY2026 $29.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.7%FY2026 +8.9%FY2026 +9.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.3% +3.0% -4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRCLLVSCCL
Held by institutions 88.5% 41.0% 69.1%
Institutions holding 1,226 710 1,030
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.3% +0.1% +9.5%
Institutions buying 607 331 993
Institutions selling 447 290 13
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.14 76.38

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.

RCLLVSCCL
RCL 1.00 0.01 0.80
LVS 0.01 1.00 0.16
CCL 0.80 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RCL, LVS and CCL?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) $79.86B, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) $22.72B, Carnival (CCL) $37.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, RCL, LVS and CCL?

Carnival (CCL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 17.5x, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 14.4x, Carnival (CCL) 12.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Carnival (CCL) is cheapest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.9x, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 13.9x, Carnival (CCL) 13.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +9.7%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) +10.9%, Carnival (CCL) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest net margin (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 23.8%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 11.8%, Carnival (CCL) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) leads (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.3%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 14.9%, Carnival (CCL) 11.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) returned the most: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +1.9%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) -37.7%, Carnival (CCL) +0.8%. Over five years, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) compounded fastest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +28.8%/yr, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) -1.4%/yr, Carnival (CCL) +4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has the highest dividend yield: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 1.84%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 3.17%, Carnival (CCL) 1.60%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has been the steadiest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 47.0%, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 31.4%, Carnival (CCL) 49.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RCL, LVS and CCL?

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 5. 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.