Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. RCL scored 53.7, BKNG scored 68.4 — BKNG leads.
Compare another set
RCL
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Travel Services · Quality-Growth
53.7
$282.26 · $75.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
14.7
BKNG leads
BKNG
Booking Holdings Inc.
Travel Services · Quality-Growth
68.4
$160.34 · $120.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthBKNG+12.9%
Highest qualityBKNG96 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueBKNG-32%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
RCL
stronger →← stronger
BKNG
75
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
96
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
42
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
67
BKNG is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
RCL
BKNG
-$416mF
FCF
$9.5bB+
+8.7%B
Rev
+12.9%B+
2.25C
D/E
Negative equity
4.0xD
P/S
—
1.14B+
PEG
0.88B+
—
P/E
17.7xB
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
RCL
BKNG
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
32% below
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~2%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
+22%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+46%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+90%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
RCL
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
BKNG
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
The companies
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.
BKNGBooking Holdings Inc.
Travel Services · $160.34 · beta 1.13
Why now
Travel Services · market cap $120.5b. Down 27% from 52-week high of $220.81 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +13%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.88 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 35 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $235.26 (implying +47% upside).
Moat
Net margin 19% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. FCF converts 177% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $120.5b 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
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
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 RCL and BKNG diverge
On the headline score the gap is 14.7 points in favor of BKNG. The widest single difference is Value, where BKNG leads by 24.9 points.
ValueRCL 41.6 · BKNG 66.5BKNG +24.9
QualityRCL 74.5 · BKNG 96.1BKNG +21.6
GrowthRCL 50.0 · BKNG 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 BKNG or RCL the better stock?
BKNG scores higher: BKNG 68.4, 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 BKNG and RCL differ most?
The widest gap is value, where BKNG leads by 25 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. BKNG also leads quality, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are BKNG 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.