Forensic Analysis · Marine Freight · as of Nov 9, 2026
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)
A forensic read on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
D · Weak — demands caution
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
0.0
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
48.5%
ROE
8.8%
Revenue growth
This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 0.0, placing it in the Distress zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by goodwill impairments.
What the filings flag
$1.2B
FY2023–FY2024
Goodwill impairments.Took $1.2B of goodwill writedowns across 2 years (FY2023 ($576M), FY2024 ($576M)) — about 25% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.
+11.5%
FY2024→FY2025
Accruals ratio (% of NOA).Net operating assets grew +11.5% relative to their own average in FY2025 — scaled by NOA itself, not by total assets, which is what the Forensic Screens card's own accrual row divides by. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit is sitting in the balance sheet rather than turning to cash. The build is led by PP&E up +12% against revenue +9%. A cash-flow measure on the same base disagrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by 8% of net operating assets, against an accruals ratio of 11.5%. The two are computed differently: the accruals ratio is the change in net operating assets over average net operating assets, while the cash-flow figure is net income less operating cash flow over that same average. Read them as two results, not one.Accruals ratio: the year-over-year change in net operating assets, relative to their own average.NOA (net operating assets): the money tied up in running the business, operating assets minus operating liabilities.
160% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns.Returned $2.0B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 160% of free cash flow, but 31% of operating cash flow. Returns run ahead of free cash flow because the business is also funding heavy growth capex (usually debt-financed); the payout itself is covered by operating cash — sustainable as long as that spending is genuine expansion, not upkeep. Counting the $175M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 175%.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$17.93B
Revenue Growth YoY+8.8%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+13.6%
Net Margin23.8%
Free Cash Flow$1.24B
Return on Equity48.5%
Debt / Equity2.13x
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?