Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Updated on October 4, 2026 · accounts published on July 30, 2026

A cruise business back to solid margins

Norwegian Cruise Line trades at a P/E of 10.0× over the last 12 months, 44 % below its sector median, with net debt worth 227 % of its share price.

• Is Norwegian Cruise Line expensive or cheap? Its P/E of 10.0× over the last 12 months is 44 % below the sector median, and only a third of its own three-year average of 29.1×.
• How is the business doing? Operating margin is 15.1 % over the last 12 months, above its 12.0 % average for 2014-2025, though EPS fell 52 % year on year.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt is $36.52 per share in fiscal 2025, 227 % of the current share price, and the Altman Z of 0.4 sits in the danger zone.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Results are due November 4, 2026, with analysts expecting EPS of $0.89, after beats in 6 of the last 8 quarters.
• Can the balance sheet withstand a recession? Net debt is 3.8× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, above the 3.0× healthy ceiling for cyclicals, and it fails six of eight sector checks.

Is Norwegian Cruise Line expensive or cheap?

At first glance Norwegian Cruise Line looks cheap. Its P/E is 10.0× over the last 12 months, against a sector median of 17.9×, and its EV/EBITDA is 8.1×. Peter Lynch warned that cyclicals look cheapest near the peak. The P/E is below 70 % of its three-year average of 29.1×, a pattern that can mean earnings are close to the top of the cycle. EV/sales gives a cleaner signal: 2.5× in fiscal 2025, against a ten-year average of 6.4×. The market remains wary. The stock is down 28 % over 12 months and 36 % below its 52-week high of $25.02.

How is the business doing?

Revenue grew 3.7 % over the last 12 months. The operating margin of 15.1 % is above the 12.0 % average for fiscal 2014-2025 but slightly below the 16.2 % of fiscal 2025. Net margin is thinner at 7.5 %, and EPS fell 52 % year on year, so higher sales are not reaching the bottom line. The weak spot is returns on capital. ROIC of 8.0 % is 2.3 points below the sector median of 10.3 %, and it has not cleared 10 % in any of the last ten fiscal years. The 32.3 % ROE is flattered by a small equity base.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt defines this company. In fiscal 2025, net debt was $36.52 per share ($36.98 of debt against $0.46 of cash), more than twice the share price. Shareholders therefore own a thin slice of the enterprise value. Over the last 12 months, debt-to-equity is 5.8, and a current ratio of 0.20 means short-term liabilities far exceed short-term assets. An Altman Z of 0.4 is well below the 1.81 danger line, and a Piotroski score of 4 out of 9 points to middling financial strength. With this much leverage, any drop in earnings hits shareholders harder.

What to expect from the next earnings?

Norwegian Cruise Line has beaten EPS estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters. The latest beat came on July 30, 2026, with $0.48 against $0.41 expected, a 17 % surprise. For the quarter due on November 4, 2026, analysts expect $0.89. Forecasts for fiscal 2026 have barely moved. Over the last 18 days the EPS consensus slipped 0.6 % to $1.54 (13 analysts), and revenue estimates are flat. Of 37 analysts, 18 rate the stock a buy, 17 a hold and 1 a sell. That split reflects the tension between a low multiple and a heavy balance sheet.

Can the balance sheet withstand a recession?

Spending on travel, cars and luxury can fall sharply in a downturn. For that reason, consumer cyclicals are judged on margins and returns averaged over a full cycle, and on leverage and liquidity, not on one good year. Norwegian Cruise Line passes two checks: inventory turnover of 48.4× in fiscal 2025, far above the 4.0× bar, and EV/sales below its ten-year average. It fails the rest. Its average operating margin for 2021-2025 is −76.7 % and its average ROIC is −0.5 %, against healthy levels of 8 % and 12 %. Net debt/EBITDA and the 0.20 current ratio leave little room for a recession.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.