Seek Returns

RCL vs. YUM: Royal Caribbean Cruises vs. Yum! Brands Stock Comparison

How do Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM) 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

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM) both belong to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry, though RCL is classified under Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines while YUM falls under Restaurants.

Company profile comparison for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
Profile ItemRCLYUM
NameRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.Yum! Brands, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorConsumer DiscretionaryConsumer Discretionary
GICS Industry GroupConsumer ServicesConsumer Services
GICS IndustryHotels, Restaurants & LeisureHotels, Restaurants & Leisure
GICS Sub-IndustryHotels, Resorts & Cruise LinesRestaurants
Market Capitalization87.51 billion USD43.35 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateApril 28, 1993September 17, 1997
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

RCL
YUM
GSPC
Loading price history…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM), 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

Loading price history…
Trailing total returns for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…
Calendar-year total returns for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Total Return (1Y)35.04%10.53%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)55.86%11.17%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)30.86%7.10%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

RCL
YUM
GSPC
Loading price history…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM), 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

Loading price history…
Distribution of monthly total returns for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has an aggressive beta of 1.82, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Yum! Brands (YUM) is defensive at 0.52 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)47.73%24.53%
Beta (5Y)1.820.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)-65.76%-23.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)2.35M2.39M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Loading chart…
RCL and YUM 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 Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.640.25
Sortino Ratio (1Y)1.100.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) earns 41.29% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Yum! Brands (YUM) has no ROE this period.

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%

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

--

Max
76.75%
Q3
34.07%
Median
15.90%
Q1
3.23%
Min
-40.61%
YUM
--
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): YUM does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; RCL is benchmarked against the Consumer Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Yum! Brands (YUM) at 39.14% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 23.79% also retains a top-quartile share.

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%

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

39.14%

YUM
39.14%
Max
25.52%
Q3
12.95%
Median
6.63%
Q1
1.46%
Min
-14.36%
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 33.61% and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 32.08% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

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%

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

32.08%

Max
49.05%
YUM
32.08%
Q3
24.35%
Median
14.23%
Q1
5.67%
Min
-16.47%
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
ROE (TTM)41.29%--
ROA (TTM)7.78%21.91%
Net Margin (TTM)23.79%39.14%
Operating Margin (TTM)33.61%32.08%
Gross Margin (TTM)50.25%44.70%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 8.79% and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 8.81% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 41.91% and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 6.32% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Revenue Growth (YoY)8.79%8.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)26.59%6.28%
EPS Growth (YoY)41.91%6.32%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--6.69%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Yum! Brands (YUM) at 0.96 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.

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

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

0.96

Max
3.41
Q3
1.85
Median
1.06
YUM
0.96
Q1
0.72
Min
0.22
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94 against its industry range, while Yum! Brands (YUM) reports no figure this period.

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

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

--

Max
6.12
Q3
2.93
Median
1.29
Q1
0.37
Min
0.01
YUM
--
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): YUM does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; RCL is benchmarked against the Consumer Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.220.96
Debt / Equity (MRQ)1.94--
Net Debt / EBITDA3.123.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 1.70% and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 0.45% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

0.45%

Max
4.10%
Q3
1.82%
YUM
0.45%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 32.54% and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 23.83% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

23.83%

Max
89.80%
Q3
36.83%
YUM
23.83%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.70%0.45%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)32.54%23.83%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Yum! Brands (YUM) at 12.97 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 19.36 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for YUM, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

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

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

12.97

Max
71.70
Q3
37.12
Median
21.88
Q1
13.00
YUM
12.97
Min
5.72
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 4.57 and Yum! Brands (YUM) at 4.93 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

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

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

4.93

Max
6.40
YUM
4.93
Q3
3.01
Median
1.54
Q1
0.74
Min
0.08
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Yum! Brands (YUM) reports a negative P/B ratio of -7.03, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) reports 7.47, ranking against industry peers normally.

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

YUM

Consumer Services industry group

-7.03

Max
12.02
Q3
5.58
Median
2.37
Q1
1.09
Min
-4.51
YUM
-7.03
Loading chart…
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum! Brands (YUM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum! Brands (YUM)
MetricRCLYUM
P/E Ratio (TTM)19.3612.97
P/S Ratio (TTM)4.574.93
P/B Ratio (MRQ)7.47-7.03
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)-0.06%3.04%