Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Updated on October 28, 2026 · accounts published on October 27, 2026

A business running at record margins that still carries a heavy debt load

Royal Caribbean Cruises trades at a P/E of 18.2 over the last 12 months, 2 % above its sector median, while EPS grew 43 % year on year.

• Is Royal Caribbean Cruises expensive or cheap? At a P/E of 18.2, Royal Caribbean Cruises trades just 2 % above its sector median of 17.9 over the last 12 months.
• How is the business doing? EPS grew 43 % over the last 12 months, and the fiscal 2025 operating margin of 27 % was the highest in ten years.
• How strong is the balance sheet, and could it survive a recession? Net debt of $83.72 per share in fiscal 2025 equals 27 % of the share price and 3.2 times EBITDA.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $3.60 on February 4, 2027; the 2026 EPS consensus held at $17.79 over the last 30 days.

Is Royal Caribbean Cruises expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Royal Caribbean Cruises trades at a P/E of 18.2, almost level with the 17.9 median of 209 consumer cyclical companies and slightly below its own three-year average of 19.4. EV/sales of 5.4 in fiscal 2025 sits well under its ten-year average of 7.2, so on revenue the stock looks cheaper than its history. Peter Lynch's warning applies here: cyclicals often look cheapest when earnings peak. The free cash flow yield of 2.8 % is thin, and at 7.0 times book value investors already pay for today's profits. The shares are 11 % below their 52-week high and 6 % lower over 12 months.

How is the business doing?

Revenue rose 9 % and EPS 43 % over the last 12 months, with an operating margin of 28 % and a net margin of 24 %. That compares with a decade average operating margin of 16 %, so the business is running at a peak. ROIC of 14.5 % beats the sector median of 9.4 % by 5.1 points. In consumer cyclicals the five-year average matters more than one strong year, and here it is weak: an average operating margin of −37.7 % and ROIC of 4.5 % for 2021-2025, against healthy thresholds of 8 % and 12 %. ROIC topped 10 % in only 3 of the last 10 years, with a low of −15.7 % in 2020.

How strong is the balance sheet, and could it survive a recession?

Consumer cyclicals are judged on leverage and liquidity because sales can fall sharply in a downturn, and here debt is the weak spot. In fiscal 2025 net debt was 3.2 times EBITDA, right at the 3.0× limit considered healthy for the sector, and debt to equity stands at 1.98 over the last 12 months. The current ratio of 0.22 is far below the healthy level of 1.5, so short-term assets cover little of short-term obligations. The Altman Z of 2.2 sits in the grey zone between 1.81 and 2.99, while a Piotroski score of 7 out of 9 points to improving fundamentals. The dividend yields 1.8 % and took only 6 % of fiscal 2025 earnings.

What to expect from the next earnings?

Royal Caribbean Cruises has beaten EPS estimates in 7 of the last 8 quarters. On October 27, 2026 it reported EPS of $6.57 against $6.38 expected, a 3 % beat. The next report is due February 4, 2027, with analysts looking for EPS of $3.60. Estimates are steady: the 2026 EPS consensus moved from $17.78 to $17.79 in the last 30 days across 16 analysts, and revenue forecasts barely changed. Of 53 analysts, 27 rate the stock a buy, 20 a hold and 6 a sell. With margins at a ten-year high, a miss would likely weigh more than another small beat.

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.