Financial Analysis: Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) versus Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) and Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Royal Caribbean Cruises and Airbnb, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Royal Caribbean Cruises	1	5	14	1	2.71
Airbnb	1	13	22	2	2.66

Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus price target of $344.79, indicating a potential upside of 17.28%. Airbnb has a consensus price target of $157.76, indicating a potential upside of 19.26%. Given Airbnb’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Airbnb is more favorable than Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Profitability

This table compares Royal Caribbean Cruises and Airbnb’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Royal Caribbean Cruises	24.36%	45.25%	11.13%
Airbnb	19.90%	31.24%	10.16%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Royal Caribbean Cruises and Airbnb”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Royal Caribbean Cruises	$17.94 billion	4.40	$4.27 billion	$16.39	17.94
Airbnb	$12.24 billion	6.51	$2.51 billion	$4.06	32.58

Royal Caribbean Cruises has higher revenue and earnings than Airbnb. Royal Caribbean Cruises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Airbnb, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Royal Caribbean Cruises has a beta of 1.77, indicating that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Airbnb has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.5% of Royal Caribbean Cruises shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Airbnb shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of Royal Caribbean Cruises shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.2% of Airbnb shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Royal Caribbean Cruises beats Airbnb on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Airbnb

Airbnb, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a platform that enables hosts to offer stays and experiences to guests worldwide. The company’s marketplace connects hosts and guests online or through mobile devices to book spaces and experiences. It primarily offers private rooms, primary homes, and vacation homes. The company was formerly known as AirBed & Breakfast, Inc. and changed its name to Airbnb, Inc. in November 2010. Airbnb, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.