CCL vs RCL: Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Royal Caribbean Cruises is the larger company, worth $70.8B, about 2.0 times Carnival.
- Royal Caribbean Cruises grew revenue faster over the last year (+6.5% vs +3.5%).
- Royal Caribbean Cruises keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (27.3% vs 16.0%).
- On earnings, Carnival is the cheaper stock (11.4x vs 16.1x).
- Royal Caribbean Cruises's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 19% a year, against 0% for Carnival (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | CCL | RCL |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $35.9B | $70.8B |
| Share price | $26.35 | $282.26 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $26.6B | $17.9B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $2.6B | $1.2B |
| Revenue growth, last year | +3.5% | +6.5% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +93.3% | +85.0% |
| Operating margin | 16.0% | 27.3% |
| Net margin | 11.4% | 23.5% |
| Return on equity | 22.1% | 43.0% |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.4x | 16.1x |
| Price / free cash flow | 13.8x | 57.3x |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.77x | 12.9x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 0.11% | 18.8% |
| Dividend yield | 0.57% | 1.6% |
| Debt / equity | 2.59x | 3.34x |
| Fundamental grade | C | C |
| Superinvestors holding it | 5 | 7 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 2 | 4 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Carnival
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $1.9B | -$7.7B | -371.5% |
| 2022 | $12.2B | -$6.6B | -36.0% |
| 2023 | $21.6B | $997M | 9.1% |
| 2024 | $25.0B | $1.3B | 14.3% |
| 2025 | $26.6B | $2.6B | 16.8% |
Royal Caribbean Cruises
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $1.5B | -$4.1B | -252.6% |
| 2022 | $8.8B | -$2.2B | -8.7% |
| 2023 | $13.9B | $580M | 20.7% |
| 2024 | $16.5B | $2.0B | 24.9% |
| 2025 | $17.9B | $1.2B | 27.4% |
Where the revenue comes from
Carnival · by segments, 2025
North America Segment$17.6B66%
Europe Segment$8.5B32%
Cruise Support$309M1%
Tour And Other$241M1%
Royal Caribbean Cruises · by products, 2025
Cruise itinerary$17.1B95%
Other Revenues$864M5%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open CCL in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Carnival or Royal Caribbean Cruises?
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), at $70.8B against $35.9B.
Is CCL or RCL cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Carnival (11.4x) is cheaper than Royal Caribbean Cruises (16.1x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, CCL or RCL?
Royal Caribbean Cruises: revenue grew +6.5% over the last year, against +3.5%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.