Carnival vs Royal Caribbean Group
Carnival reported revenue of $26.6 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.5 times Royal Caribbean Group's $17.9 billion in fiscal 2025. Carnival's revenue grew 6.4% in its latest year, and Royal Caribbean Group's grew 8.8%. Carnival had an operating margin of 16.8%, against 27.4% at Royal Caribbean Group. Free cash flow was $2.6 billion at Carnival and $1.2 billion at Royal Caribbean Group. Their fiscal years end in different months (November 30 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Carnival | Royal Caribbean Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Nov 30, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $26.6B | $17.9B |
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 8.8% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 36.6% | 52.0% |
| Gross margin | — | 49.4% |
| Operating margin | 16.8% | 27.4% |
| Net margin | 10.4% | 23.8% |
| Free cash flow | $2.6B | $1.2B |
| Free cash flow margin | 9.8% | 6.9% |
| Return on capital | 12.1% | 16.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.5x | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0M | $2.0B |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.3% | −1.8% |
| Last close | $26.86 | $280.60 |
| P/E at the last close | 11.7× | 17.3× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $13.5 million | sold $631.0 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 8 | 9 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
CarnivalRoyal Caribbean Group
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
CarnivalRoyal Caribbean Group
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
CarnivalRoyal Caribbean Group
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group pages.