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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Royal Caribbean (RCL) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to RCL for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Royal Caribbean's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Royal Caribbean's main business drivers.
Based in Miami and incorporated in 1985, Royal Caribbean Cruises is a cruise company. It owns and operates three global brands — Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Additionally, it has a 50% investment in a joint venture with TUI AG, which operates the brand TUI Cruises.
The company’s cruise brands primarily serve the contemporary, premium and deluxe segments of the cruise vacation industry, which also includes the budget and luxury segments. These brands operate 64 ships. The ships operate on a selection of diverse itineraries worldwide that include roughly 1,000 destinations on all seven continents. As of March 31, 2025, the company had $6.33 billion in customer deposits compared with $5.5 billion in the prior-year period.
The company reports revenues under the following segments — Passenger ticket revenues (69.8% of total revenues in 2024) and Onboard and other revenues (30.2%).
In the third quarter of 2022, the company unveiled a three-year financial performance initiative — the Trifecta Program — thereby articulating longer-term financial objectives. The program emphasizes financial coordinates, including Adjusted EBITDA per APCD, Adjusted EPS and ROIC. During the second-quarter of 2024, the company achieved its Trifecta financial goals 18 months ahead of schedule.
In the first quarter of 2025, the company reiterated its commitment to its “Perfecta Performance Program,” targeting a 20% CAGR in adjusted EPS through 2027 and return on invested capital in the high teens. Royal Caribbean's formula of moderate capacity growth, disciplined cost control and sustained yield improvements is likely to support the same.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Royal Caribbean a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.