Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)

Return on assets (ROA)

		Dec 31, 2024	Sep 30, 2024	Jun 30, 2024	Mar 31, 2024	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
Net income (ttm)	US$ in thousands	2,878,000	2,602,073	2,500,153	2,104,914	1,018,094	266,605	-719,693	-1,689,093	-2,160,643	-3,043,197	-4,490,529	-5,327,150	-5,260,500	-5,270,460	-5,192,670	-5,484,700	-5,797,460	-4,157,394	-1,927,394	184,726
Total assets	US$ in thousands	37,070,000	37,067,000	36,974,000	35,190,000	35,131,000	32,768,700	32,923,300	32,870,500	33,776,400	33,464,200	33,943,200	32,940,000	32,258,400	32,665,600	33,692,000	34,347,100	32,465,200	31,828,800	33,306,500	33,445,100
ROA		7.76%	7.02%	6.76%	5.98%	2.90%	0.81%	-2.19%	-5.14%	-6.40%	-9.09%	-13.23%	-16.17%	-16.31%	-16.13%	-15.41%	-15.97%	-17.86%	-13.06%	-5.79%	0.55%

December 31, 2024 calculation

ROA = Net income (ttm) ÷ Total assets
= $2,878,000K ÷ $37,070,000K
= 7.76%

The return on assets (ROA) for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd has displayed a fluctuating trend over the provided periods. In March 2020, the ROA stood at 0.55%, indicating a modest return on the company's assets. However, in the subsequent quarters of 2020, the ROA turned negative, reaching its lowest point of -17.86% by December 2020. This suggests that the company's assets were not utilized efficiently to generate profits during this period.

Throughout 2021 and the first half of 2022, the ROA continued to be negative, remaining in the range of -15% to -6%. This indicates ongoing challenges in generating profits relative to the assets employed by the company.

The situation started to improve in the second half of 2022, with the ROA turning positive in the following quarters. By December 2024, the ROA had reached a respectable 7.76%, showcasing a significant enhancement in the company's ability to generate profits from its assets.

Overall, the ROA trend for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd reflects a period of struggle with inefficiencies in asset utilization, followed by a recovery and eventual improvement in profitability generation as highlighted by the positive ROAs from 2023 onwards. This improvement suggests a positive turnaround in the company's operational efficiency and financial performance.