NCLH vs RCL
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | NCLH | RCL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.8B | $17.9B |
| Net income | $423.2M | $4.3B |
| Gross margin | 42.6% | 49.4% |
| Net margin | 4.3% | 23.9% |
| Return on equity | 23.3% | 48.5% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.92 | $15.61 |
| Dividend / share | · | $3.50 |
| Payout ratio | · | 19.3% |
| Free cash flow | $-1.2B | $1.2B |
| Equity | $2.2B | $10.0B |
| Net debt / equity | 6.12× | 2.04× |
| Current ratio | 0.21× | 0.18× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 50.3% | 52.0% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | · |
RCL bills 1.8× the revenue of NCLH, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (23.9% against 4.3%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | NCLH | RCL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $9.8B | $17.9B |
| FY2024 | $9.5B | $16.5B |
| FY2023 | $8.5B | $13.9B |
| FY2022 | $4.8B | $8.8B |
| FY2021 | $648.0M | $1.5B |
| FY2020 | $1.3B | $2.2B |
| FY2019 | $6.5B | $11.0B |
| FY2018 | $6.1B | $9.5B |
| FY2017 | $5.4B | $8.8B |
| FY2016 | $4.9B | $8.5B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | NCLH | RCL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $423.2M | $4.3B |
| FY2024 | $910.3M | $2.9B |
| FY2023 | $166.2M | $1.7B |
| FY2022 | $-2.3B | $-2.2B |
| FY2021 | $-4.5B | $-5.3B |
| FY2020 | $-4.0B | $-5.8B |
| FY2019 | $930.2M | $1.9B |
| FY2018 | $954.8M | $1.8B |
| FY2017 | $759.9M | $1.6B |
| FY2016 | $633.1M | $1.3B |
15 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$8,107,408,000 | RCL |
| FY2024 | −$7,004,349,000 | RCL |
| FY2023 | −$5,350,076,000 | RCL |
| FY2022 | −$3,996,240,000 | RCL |
| FY2021 | −$884,014,000 | RCL |
| FY2020 | −$928,897,000 | RCL |
| FY2019 | −$4,488,285,000 | RCL |
| FY2018 | −$3,438,723,000 | RCL |
| FY2017 | −$3,381,670,000 | RCL |
| FY2016 | −$3,622,061,000 | RCL |
| FY2015 | −$3,954,026,000 | RCL |
| FY2014 | −$4,947,974,000 | RCL |
| FY2013 | −$5,389,600,000 | RCL |
| FY2012 | −$5,411,778,000 | RCL |
| FY2011 | −$5,317,939,000 | RCL |
RCL has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 15 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
15 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −19.6 pp | RCL |
| FY2024 | −8.0 pp | RCL |
| FY2023 | −10.3 pp | RCL |
| FY2022 | −22.5 pp | RCL |
| FY2021 | −352.1 pp | RCL |
| FY2020 | −52.0 pp | RCL |
| FY2019 | −3.0 pp | RCL |
| FY2018 | −3.4 pp | RCL |
| FY2017 | −4.4 pp | RCL |
| FY2016 | −2.1 pp | RCL |
| FY2015 | +1.8 pp | NCLH |
| FY2014 | +1.5 pp | NCLH |
| FY2013 | −1.9 pp | RCL |
| FY2012 | +7.2 pp | NCLH |
| FY2011 | −2.3 pp | RCL |
The higher net margin has changed hands between NCLH and RCL over this period.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
NCLH's net margin has been more volatile than RCL's over the 15 comparable fiscal years — 187.2 percentage points of standard deviation against 107.8.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between NCLH and RCL over these 15 fiscal years — NCLH led in 3 and RCL in 12.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
NCLH's return on equity has been more volatile than RCL's over the 15 comparable fiscal years — 71.6 percentage points of standard deviation against 36.0.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between NCLH and RCL over these 15 fiscal years — NCLH led in 6 and RCL in 9.
15 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.