Head to head · SEC data as of July 18, 2026
Carnival
81
Quality score · out of 100
Royal Caribbean
83
Quality score · out of 100
On paper this one is nearly a draw: Carnival scores 81 and Royal Caribbean scores 83 out of 100 in our fundamental quality model. Royal Caribbean wins on net margin (24.4% vs 11.2%), ROE (45.7% vs 23.7%) and revenue growth (49.8% vs 33.4%). Carnival answers with cash generation (FCF) (11.7% vs 7.5%).
| Metric | Carnival | Royal Caribbean |
|---|---|---|
| Quality score (0-100) | 81 | 83 |
| Net margin | 11.2% | 24.4% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| ROE | 23.7% | 45.7% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | 3.09× | 2.99× |
| FCF margin | 11.7% | 7.5% |
| Revenue growth (annualized) | 33.4% | 49.8% |
| Earnings growth (annualized) | 40.3% | 52.9% |
TTM metrics with official SEC data, refreshed daily. Bold green marks the winner of each metric. A dash means the metric doesn't apply or isn't reliable.
Carnival. Carnival is the world's largest cruise group: nine brands, from festive Carnival to Britain's Cunard, and more passengers than anyone. Its post-pandemic story is a single one: fill ships at good prices to pay down the colossal debt that saved its life.
Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean is the megaship cruise line: floating cities with water parks and ice rinks that redefine what a cruise is. It emerged from pandemic near-death with record demand and an ever-younger clientele.
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What this comparison doesn't tell you
The score measures business quality, not whether the stock is cheap or expensive: the better company can be the worse investment if you overpay. For the valuation verdict, enter each one's current price in the analyzer:
Who has the stronger fundamentals today, Carnival or Royal Caribbean?
They're practically tied: Carnival and Royal Caribbean score 83 and 81 out of 100 in the StockSemáforo model (profitability, growth and financial strength, built on official SEC data). The score is recomputed nightly with the latest filings.
Does that make Royal Caribbean the better investment?
No. The score measures business quality, not valuation: an excellent company can trade at an excessive price and be a poor investment at that price. To find out whether it's cheap or expensive, enter its current quote in the StockSemáforo analyzer.
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Who's behind the methodology and model · how the score is computed
Data: official SEC filings (EDGAR) · Recomputed on July 18, 2026
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