RCL vs VIK vs CCL Stock Comparison

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Viking Holdings and Carnival Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
3 wins
VIK Viking Holdings Ltd
$82.30 +2.5% 1M +35.8% 1Y
Market cap
$37.55B
P/E
27.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.97B
Div. yield
–
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
CCL Carnival Corp Ltd.
$26.11 +19.8% 1M -11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$36.56B
P/E
11.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.59B
Div. yield
–
Cruise Lines Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Viking Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Viking Holdings 5, Royal Caribbean Cruises 3, Carnival 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRCLVIKCCLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $75.33B $37.55B $36.56B RCL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.1x 27.9x 11.7x CCL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.7x 26.0x 12.2x CCL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.7% +20.0% +5.2% VIK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.5% 19.3% 11.4% RCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.6% 22.5% 11.5% VIK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.0x 3.1x VIK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.7% +35.8% -11.3% VIK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +26.7%/yr — +3.2%/yr RCL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.5% 40.4% 49.2% VIK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 56/100 67/100 CCL

Percentile Scorecard

RCLVIKCCL

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

AxisRCLVIKCCL
Valuation 50 #15 of 29 29 #21 of 29 86 #5 of 29
Growth 64 #10 of 26 92 #3 of 26 76 #7 of 26
Profitability 92 #3 of 26 96 #2 of 26 76 #7 of 26
Financial Health 50 #16 of 31 60 #13 of 31 57 #14 of 31
Shareholder Returns 74 #6 of 20 5 #19 of 20 42 #12 of 20
Overall 66 56 67
  • RCL ranked among 32 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • VIK ranked among 32 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • CCL 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

PeriodRCLVIKCCLSPY
1 month +20.0%+2.5%+19.8% -1.0%
3 months -5.8%-18.3%-0.9% +2.9%
6 months +4.0%+0.6%-3.9% +6.4%
Year to date -0.9%+15.2%-14.5% +11.4%
1 year -12.7%+35.8%-11.3% +13.1%
3 years +235.2%—+128.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +49.7%—+31.6% +21.5%
5 years +226.7%—+17.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +26.7%—+3.2% +10.9%
10 years +298.6%—-44.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.8%—-5.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureRCLVIKCCLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.5%40.4%49.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.1%37.6%44.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.701.732.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.270.89-0.23 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.6%-35.4%-74.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.6%-24.0%-23.2% -2.5%
52-week high $348.03$108.24$33.99 $779.14
52-week low $230.35$57.08$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.

MultipleRCLVIKCCL
P/E now vs peer median 16.8xmedian 18.8x 27.1xmedian 18.8x 11.3xmedian 18.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.5x 5.3xmedian 1.5x 1.3xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 15.0x 19.9xmedian 15.0x 7.8xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -177.8xmedian 16.0x 32.2xmedian 16.0x 11.1xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 2.5x 22.5xmedian 2.5x 2.5xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 0.37 —median 0.37 0.19median 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 monthsRCLVIKCCL
Revenue $18.68B $6.97B $27.59B
Gross profit $9.17B $3.01B –
Operating income $5.10B $1.62B $4.41B
Net income $4.43B $1.35B $3.14B
Free cash flow -$416.00M $1.15B $3.18B
EPS (diluted) $16.41 $3.02 $2.29
Cash & equivalents $875.00M $3.99B $1.22B
Total debt $85.57B $13.58B $23.91B
Shares (diluted) 268.00M 446.42M 1.37B
Enterprise value $72.69B $22.67B $29.75B

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
MetricRCLVIKCCL
P/E 16.8x 27.1x 11.3x
P/FCF -177.8x 32.2x 11.1x
P/Operating cash flow 10.9x 14.1x 5.1x
P/S 4.0x 5.3x 1.3x
P/B 7.1x 22.5x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 7.1x 22.5x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.7x 19.9x 7.8x
EV/EBIT 18.8x 24.1x 13.1x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 5.6x 2.1x
EV/FCF -230.6x 33.9x 18.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 14.8x 8.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 – 0.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRCLVIKCCL
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.7% 20.0% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.9% – 11.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.4% 22.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.7% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.6% 29.1% 2.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 55.6% – 116.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 22.2% 64.8% 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 342.6% – 57.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.3% 35.4% 21.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 338.3% – 58.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.3% 16.6% 21.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% – 28.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -111.6% 48.3% 9.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.7% – 98.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRCLVIKCCL
Gross margin 49.1% 43.2% –
EBITDA margin 37.4% 28.2% 26.9%
Operating margin 27.3% 23.3% 16.0%
Pretax margin 22.8% 19.7% 11.5%
Net margin 23.5% 19.3% 11.4%
FCF margin -2.2% 16.6% 11.5%
Operating cash flow margin 36.3% 37.8% 24.7%
Return on equity 43.2% 99.1% 23.1%
Return on assets 10.2% 10.0% 6.1%
Return on invested capital 15.6% 22.5% 11.5%
Return on capital employed 16.1% 21.9% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 2.0x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRCLVIKCCL
Debt / assets 51.2% 43.1% 46.9%
Debt / equity 2.2x 3.6x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.0x 3.1x
Debt / FCF -54.9x 5.2x 7.5x
Liabilities / assets 76.6% 88.0% 72.1%
Equity / assets 23.4% 12.0% 27.9%
Interest coverage 5.0x 8.2x 3.8x
Current ratio 0.2x 0.8x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.7x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.7x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.07 – 1.37

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRCLVIKCCL
Dividend yield 2.0% – 1.7%
Net buyback yield 2.6% -0.1% 1.6%
Shareholder yield 4.6% -0.1% 3.3%
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.

ConsensusRCLVIKCCL
Forward P/E 14.7xFY2026 26.0xFY2026 12.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.79FY2026 $3.16FY2026 $2.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.1%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026 -4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.2% +30.4% +16.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.60BFY2026 $6.90BFY2026 $29.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.7%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026 +9.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.3% +23.8% -4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRCLVIKCCL
Held by institutions 88.5% 47.9% 69.1%
Institutions holding 1,224 607 1,030
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.3% +2.6% +9.5%
Institutions buying 606 404 993
Institutions selling 446 148 13
Buyers to sellers 1.36 2.73 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.

RCLVIKCCL
RCL 1.00 0.66 0.80
VIK 0.66 1.00 0.71
CCL 0.80 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RCL, VIK and CCL?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) $75.33B, Viking Holdings (VIK) $37.55B, Carnival (CCL) $36.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, RCL, VIK and CCL?

Carnival (CCL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 17.1x, Viking Holdings (VIK) 27.9x, Carnival (CCL) 11.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Carnival (CCL) is cheapest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 14.7x, Viking Holdings (VIK) 26.0x, Carnival (CCL) 12.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Viking Holdings (VIK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +8.7%, Viking Holdings (VIK) +20.0%, Carnival (CCL) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has the highest net margin (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 23.5%, Viking Holdings (VIK) 19.3%, Carnival (CCL) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Viking Holdings (VIK) leads (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 15.6%, Viking Holdings (VIK) 22.5%, Carnival (CCL) 11.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Viking Holdings (VIK) returned the most: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) -12.7%, Viking Holdings (VIK) +35.8%, Carnival (CCL) -11.3%. Over five years, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) compounded fastest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) +26.7%/yr, Carnival (CCL) +3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Viking Holdings (VIK) has been the steadiest (Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 47.5%, Viking Holdings (VIK) 40.4%, Carnival (CCL) 49.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RCL, VIK 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, Viking Holdings (VIK) 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.