Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. EXPE scored 67.6, RCL scored 53.7 — EXPE leads.
Compare another set
EXPE
Expedia Group, Inc.
Travel Services · Quality-Growth
67.6
$274.22 · $32.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
13.9
EXPE leads
RCL
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Travel Services · Quality-Growth
53.7
$282.26 · $75.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthRCL+8.7%
Strongest balance sheetRCL2.25
Highest qualityEXPE87 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueEXPE-52%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
EXPE
stronger →← stronger
RCL
87
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
75
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
71
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
42
EXPE is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
EXPE
RCL
$4.5bB
FCF
-$416mF
+7.6%B
Rev
+8.7%B
2.30C
D/E
2.25C
17.1xB
P/E
—
0.71A-
PEG
1.14B+
—
P/S
4.0xD
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
EXPE
RCL
52% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
—
~-7%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
—
+76%
1-yr DCF upside
—
+106%
5-yr DCF upside
—
+158%
10-yr DCF upside
—
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
EXPE
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
RCL
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
The companies
EXPEExpedia Group, Inc.
Travel Services · $274.22 · beta 1.36
Why now
Travel Services · market cap $32.9b. 20% off the 52-week high of $342.00. PEG 0.71 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 35 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $336.14 (implying +23% upside).
Moat
Net margin 13% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 89% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of cash released from working capital ($1.5b) — a release that doesn't repeat every year the way earnings can.
Risk
D/E 2.30 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
RCLRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Travel Services · $282.26 · beta 1.82
Why now
Travel Services · market cap $75.5b. Down 21% from 52-week high of $356.39 — deep drawdown territory. 27 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $351.26 (implying +24% upside).
Moat
Net margin 24% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 43% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $75.5b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 2.25 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Free cash flow is negative (-$416m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Beta 1.82 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where EXPE and RCL diverge
On the headline score the gap is 13.9 points in favor of EXPE. The widest single difference is Value, where EXPE leads by 29.6 points.
ValueEXPE 71.2 · RCL 41.6EXPE +29.6
QualityEXPE 86.7 · RCL 74.5EXPE +12.2
GrowthEXPE 50.0 · RCL 50.0level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is EXPE or RCL the better stock?
EXPE scores higher: EXPE 67.6, RCL 53.7 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do EXPE and RCL differ most?
The widest gap is value, where EXPE leads by 30 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. EXPE also leads quality, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are EXPE and RCL scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.