LTH vs. RCL: Life Time vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) both belong to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry, though LTH is classified under Leisure Facilities while RCL falls under Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has more than two decades of public-market history since April 28, 1993, whereas Life Time (LTH) listed on October 7, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Profile Item	LTH	RCL
Name	Life Time Group Holdings, Inc.	Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Services	Consumer Services
GICS Industry	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
GICS Sub-Industry	Leisure Facilities	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
Market Capitalization	10.58 billion USD	87.51 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 7, 2021	April 28, 1993
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LTH

RCL

GSPC

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Total Return (1Y)	84.40%	35.04%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	51.85%	55.86%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	19.40%	30.86%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LTH

RCL

GSPC

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	37.64%	47.73%
Beta (5Y)	1.47	1.82
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-58.36%	-65.76%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.18M	2.35M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LTH and RCL are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	2.13	0.64
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	3.91	1.10

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 41.29% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Life Time (LTH) at 13.02% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for RCL.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

13.02%

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
LTH: 13.02%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

41.29%

Max: 76.75%
RCL: 41.29%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 23.79% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Life Time (LTH) at 12.72%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

12.72%

Max: 25.52%
Q3: 12.95%
LTH: 12.72%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

23.79%

Max: 25.52%
RCL: 23.79%
Q3: 12.95%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 33.61% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Life Time (LTH) at 17.34%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

17.34%

Max: 49.05%
Q3: 24.35%
LTH: 17.34%
Median: 14.23%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

33.61%

Max: 49.05%
RCL: 33.61%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
ROE (TTM)	13.02%	41.29%
ROA (TTM)	4.25%	7.78%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.72%	23.79%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.34%	33.61%
Gross Margin (TTM)	47.95%	50.25%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Life Time (LTH) at 14.28% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 8.79% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for LTH.

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Life Time (LTH) at 124.32% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 41.91% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for LTH.

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.28%	8.79%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	18.01%	26.59%
EPS Growth (YoY)	124.32%	41.91%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Life Time (LTH) at 0.73 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 0.22 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for RCL.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

0.73

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
LTH: 0.73
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.22

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

0.22

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
RCL: 0.22
Min: 0.22

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Life Time (LTH) at 1.25 and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 1.94 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

1.25

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
LTH: 1.25
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

1.94

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
RCL: 1.94
Median: 1.29
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.73	0.22
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.25	1.94
Net Debt / EBITDA	4.54	3.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Life Time (LTH) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) reports a yield of 1.70%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
LTH: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

1.70%

Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
RCL: 1.70%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Life Time (LTH) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) reports a payout of 32.54%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 89.80%
Q3: 36.83%
LTH: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

32.54%

Max: 89.80%
Q3: 36.83%
RCL: 32.54%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.70%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	32.54%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Life Time (LTH) at 25.47 and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 19.36 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

25.47

Max: 71.70
Q3: 37.12
LTH: 25.47
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

19.36

Max: 71.70
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
RCL: 19.36
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Life Time (LTH) at 3.21 and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 4.57 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

3.21

Max: 6.40
LTH: 3.21
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

4.57

Max: 6.40
RCL: 4.57
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Life Time (LTH) at 3.07 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 7.47 carries an above-peer premium to book — RCL is pricier on assets.

LTH

Consumer Services industry group

3.07

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
LTH: 3.07
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

RCL

Consumer Services industry group

7.47

Max: 12.02
RCL: 7.47
Q3: 5.58
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

Life Time (LTH) vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Life Time (LTH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)
Metric	LTH	RCL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.47	19.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.21	4.57
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.07	7.47
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-3.76%	-0.06%