CCL vs NCLH Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line by capacity utilization, pricing per passenger cruise day, debt reduction trajectory, new ship delivery pipeline, and which cruise operator offers better value recovery.
Use this Carnival vs Norwegian Cruise Line comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
CCL holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CCL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-11.58% vs -17.57%), though NCLH has the better forward P/E setup (9.64x vs 10.04x for CCL). On fundamentals, NCLH is growing revenue faster (9.60%), while CCL maintains the higher operating margin (12.79%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CCL (+34.30%) than for NCLH (+12.02%).
| Metric | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 27.9 | 26.4 |
| AI rank | #2441 | #2600 |
| Latest close | $26.33 | $19.37 |
| 1M return | -8.92% | -7.81% |
| 6M return | -7.78% | -7.45% |
| 1Y return | -11.58% | -17.57% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.85K (-11.5%) started 2025-07-25 | $8.13K (-18.7%) started 2025-07-25 |
| 5Y ago | $11.37K (+13.7%) started 2021-07-26 | $7.44K (-25.6%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $7.32K (-26.8%) started 2016-07-25 | $4.65K (-53.5%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $36.17B | $8.93B |
| Trailing P/E | 11.90 | 15.69 |
| Forward P/E | 10.04 | 9.64 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 2.20 | 2.48 |
| Analyst target | $35.47 | $21.80 |
| Target upside | +34.30% | +12.02% |
| Metric | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 5.30% | 9.60% |
| Earnings growth | -6.50% | -9.60% |
| EPS growth | -6.50% | -9.60% |
| FCF margin | +6.95% | -14.96% |
| Operating margin | 12.79% | 10.52% |
| Profit margin | 11.24% | 5.66% |
| ROIC proxy | 26.69% | 29.53% |
| Return on equity | 26.69% | 29.53% |
| Dividend yield | 1.70% | N/A |
| Beta | 2.32 | 1.88 |
| Debt/equity | 201.56 | 661.44 |
| Current ratio | 0.33 | 0.21 |
| Quick ratio | 0.21 | 0.07 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -11.50% | -18.68% |
| CAGR | -11.53% | -18.73% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.12 | -0.21 | |
| Max drawdown | 29.71% | 45.10% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.06% | 15.28% | |
| Max wkly drop | 18.26% | 19.12% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +13.69% | -25.56% |
| CAGR | +2.60% | -5.74% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.24 | 0.10 | |
| Max drawdown | 75.82% | 64.11% | |
| Max daily drop | 23.25% | 18.04% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.91% | 30.02% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -35.74% | -53.54% |
| CAGR | -4.33% | -7.38% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.14 | 0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 90.37% | 87.25% | |
| Max daily drop | 33.18% | 35.80% | |
| Max wkly drop | 57.24% | 66.25% |
| Category | CCL | NCLH |
|---|---|---|
| Company | CCL | NCLH |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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