RCL vs. YUMC: Royal Caribbean Cruises vs. Yum China Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

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

Company profile comparison for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC)
Profile Item	RCL	YUMC
Name	Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.	Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	China
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Services	Consumer Services
GICS Industry	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
GICS Sub-Industry	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines	Restaurants
Market Capitalization	87.51 billion USD	16.79 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 28, 1993	October 17, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

RCL

YUMC

GSPC

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC), 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 Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC). 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 China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Total Return (1Y)	35.04%	17.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	55.86%	6.80%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	30.86%	-0.60%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

RCL

YUMC

GSPC

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC), 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 Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC). 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 China (YUMC) is defensive at 0.01 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 China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	47.73%	25.40%
Beta (5Y)	1.82	0.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-65.76%	-53.84%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.35M	1.59M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

RCL and YUMC 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 China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.64	0.50
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.10	0.77

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 41.29% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Yum China (YUMC) at 17.35% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for RCL.

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%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

17.35%

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
YUMC: 17.35%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): 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 Yum China (YUMC) at 7.90%, which keeps about the industry-typical 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%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

7.90%

Max: 25.52%
Q3: 12.95%
YUMC: 7.90%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): 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 Yum China (YUMC) at 13.09%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

13.09%

Max: 49.05%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
YUMC: 13.09%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
ROE (TTM)	41.29%	17.35%
ROA (TTM)	7.78%	7.81%
Net Margin (TTM)	23.79%	7.90%
Operating Margin (TTM)	33.61%	13.09%
Gross Margin (TTM)	50.25%	20.45%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 8.79% and Yum China (YUMC) at 4.37% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 41.91% and Yum China (YUMC) at 7.73% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.79%	4.37%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	26.59%	7.23%
EPS Growth (YoY)	41.91%	7.73%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	34.14%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 0.22 and Yum China (YUMC) at 0.67 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

0.67

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
YUMC: 0.67
Min: 0.22

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 1.94 and Yum China (YUMC) at 0.54 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

0.54

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
YUMC: 0.54
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.22	0.67
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.94	0.54
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.12	0.85

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Yum China (YUMC) at 2.23% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 1.70% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, YUMC the richer one.

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%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

2.23%

Max: 4.10%
YUMC: 2.23%
Q3: 1.82%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 32.54% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Yum China (YUMC) at 38.54% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

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%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

38.54%

Max: 89.80%
YUMC: 38.54%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.70%	2.23%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	32.54%	38.54%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 19.36 and Yum China (YUMC) at 17.34 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

17.34

Max: 71.70
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
YUMC: 17.34
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Yum China (YUMC) at 1.32 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at 4.57 sits in the pricier quartile — RCL costs more per dollar of sales.

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

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

1.32

Max: 6.40
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
YUMC: 1.32
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Yum China (YUMC) at 3.19 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.

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

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

3.19

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
YUMC: 3.19
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vs. Yum China (YUMC): 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 China (YUMC)
Metric	RCL	YUMC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.36	17.34
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.57	1.32
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.47	3.19
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-0.06%	-2.30%