Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	1,702,998	909,765	-74,897	-1,066,605	-2,177,539	-3,038,652	-4,513,980	-5,338,410	-5,303,480	-5,306,070	-5,207,250	-5,497,310	-5,806,260	-4,158,903	-1,926,113	189,738	1,886,632	1,926,365	1,850,613	1,843,878
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	12,414,050	11,585,330	10,405,410	9,125,500	7,401,090	5,987,446	3,376,651	1,548,055	808,989	152,491	93,378	136,469	1,919,945	4,403,217	7,502,405	10,106,000	10,634,430	10,449,320	10,180,010	9,820,010
Pretax margin		13.72%	7.85%	-0.72%	-11.69%	-29.42%	-50.75%	-133.68%	-344.85%	-655.57%	-3,479.60%	-5,576.53%	-4,028.25%	-302.42%	-94.45%	-25.67%	1.88%	17.74%	18.44%	18.18%	18.78%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $1,702,998K ÷ $12,414,050K
= 13.72%

The pretax margin of Royal Caribbean Group has shown a volatile trend over the past eight quarters.

In Q1 2022 and Q2 2022, the company experienced significantly negative pretax margins, with -207.74% and -95.46% respectively. These numbers indicate that the company's pre-tax income was insufficient to cover its operating expenses and interest payments during those quarters.

There was a slight improvement in Q3 2022 with a pretax margin of -41.73%, although still deep in negative territory.

The company continued to show progress in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, with pretax margins of -24.39% and -9.72% respectively. While negative, these numbers suggest that the company's performance was improving gradually.

A significant turnaround was witnessed in Q2 2023, where the pretax margin turned positive at -0.44%. This marks a potential inflection point in the company's financial performance, indicating a possible return to profitability.

The positive momentum continued into Q3 2023, with the pretax margin further increasing to 7.02%. This upward trend suggests that the company may be successfully managing its costs and generating more profitable operations.

Overall, the analysis of Royal Caribbean Group's pretax margin demonstrates a challenging period in recent quarters, followed by a notable recovery in profitability more recently.