Does Carnival Stock Lead the Pack?

CCL: Carnival logo
CCL
Carnival

With Carnival falling -9.1% in a Day, it makes sense to re-evaluate vs its peers. Consistently assessing alternatives is core to a sound investment approach. Here is how Carnival (CCL) stock stacks up against its peers in size, valuation, growth and margin.

  • CCL’s operating margin of 16.4% is strong, lower than most peers – trailing BKNG (34.5%).
  • CCL’s revenue growth of 7.1% in the last 12 months is moderate, outpacing NCLH but lagging RCL, BKNG, ABNB.
  • CCL’s stock gained 19.2% over the past year and trades at a PE of 13.0, though peers like RCL delivered stronger returns.

As a quick background, Carnival operates as a leisure travel company offering cruises to around 700 ports worldwide through multiple renowned cruise line brands.

A single stock can be risky, but there is a huge value to a broader, diversified approach we take with the Trefis High Quality Portfolio. Separately, consider what the long-term performance for your portfolio could be if you combined 10% commodities, 10% gold, and 2% crypto with equities.

  CCL RCL NCLH BKNG ABNB
Market Cap ($ Bil) 34.3 70.0 8.4 161.7 75.2
Revenue ($ Bil) 26.2 17.4 9.6 26.0 11.6
PE Ratio 13.0 17.2 11.7 32.0 28.7
LTM Revenue Growth 7.1% 8.6% 5.2% 13.0% 10.2%
LTM Operating Margin 16.4% 26.4% 16.0% 34.5% 22.5%
LTM FCF Margin 11.1% 11.7% -5.3% 31.9% 37.2%
12M Market Return 19.2% 27.4% -25.3% 5.3% -10.6%

Why does this matter? CCL just went down -10.2% in a month – peer comparison puts stock performance, valuation, and financials in context – highlighting whether it is truly outperforming, lagging behind, and above all – can this continue? Read Buy or Sell CCL Stock to see if Carnival is really a falling knife. Sharp dips often come with rebound opportunities – see how the stock has dipped and recovered in the past through CCL Dip Buyer Analysis lens.

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Revenue Growth Comparison

  LTM 2024 2023 2022
CCL 7.1% 15.9% 77.4% 537.8%
RCL 8.6% 18.6% 57.2% 477.0%
NCLH 5.2% 10.9% 76.5% 647.5%
BKNG 13.0% 11.1% 25.0% 56.0%
ABNB 10.2% 11.9% 18.1% 40.2%

Operating Margin Comparison

  LTM 2024 2023 2022
CCL 16.4% 14.3% 9.1% -36.0%
RCL 26.4% 24.9% 20.7% -8.7%
NCLH 16.0% 15.5% 10.9% -32.0%
BKNG 34.5% 31.8% 27.3% 29.9%
ABNB 22.5% 23.0% 15.3% 22.5%

PE Ratio Comparison

  LTM 2024 2023 2022
CCL 13.0 16.6 -316.2 -1.6
RCL 17.2 20.9 19.5 -5.8
NCLH 11.7 12.3 51.2 -2.3
BKNG 32.0 28.4 29.9 26.3
ABNB 28.7 31.4 18.1 28.8

While peer comparison is critical, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.