Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)

Return on total capital

		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 interest and tax (EBIT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	2,877,996	2,323,745	1,357,070	366,845	-763,976	-1,811,167	-3,115,412	-3,920,298	-3,870,321	-3,855,131	-3,845,425	-4,104,385	-4,601,564	-3,285,589	-1,398,683	457,460	2,082,701	2,147,303	2,056,244	1,939,486
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	4,724,000	4,422,980	3,363,650	2,851,620	2,869,000	3,205,420	3,398,100	3,988,930	5,085,560	6,467,500	7,884,020	9,172,380	8,760,670	8,328,590	8,963,900	10,231,800	12,163,800	11,976,900	11,538,400	11,269,100
Return on total capital		60.92%	52.54%	40.35%	12.86%	-26.63%	-56.50%	-91.68%	-98.28%	-76.10%	-59.61%	-48.77%	-44.75%	-52.53%	-39.45%	-15.60%	4.47%	17.12%	17.93%	17.82%	17.21%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $2,877,996K ÷ ($—K + $4,724,000K)
= 60.92%

Royal Caribbean Group's return on total capital has shown varying performance over the past eight quarters. In Q4 2023, the return on total capital stood at 11.76%, indicating the company generated $0.1176 in profit for every $1 of total capital employed. This was an improvement compared to previous quarters, with Q3 2023 at 10.25% and Q2 2023 at 6.45%. However, the return on total capital was significantly lower in Q1 2023 at 1.96%.

The performance in the previous year Q4 2022 was negative, with a return on total capital of -2.69%. This followed a downward trend from Q3 2022 (-6.55%) to Q2 2022 (-11.86%) and Q1 2022 (-14.89%). The negative returns during these quarters indicate that the company's profits were insufficient to cover the capital employed, reflecting potential operational challenges or inefficiencies.

Overall, the return on total capital for Royal Caribbean Group has fluctuated significantly in recent quarters, highlighting the importance of monitoring and analyzing this metric to assess the company's profitability and capital utilization efficiency.