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How Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) makes money
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) made $5.6B of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +9% from a year earlier. Passenger ticket revenues brought in $3.9B (69%); Onboard and other revenues brought in $1.7B (31%). Of every dollar of revenue, 33¢ was left as operating profit, 31¢ was left as net earnings.
Drawing the Sankey…
Revenue by segment, Q3 2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share | Q/Q | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger ticket revenues | $3.9B | 69.5% | +16% | +7% |
| Onboard and other revenues | $1.7B | 30.5% | +15% | +14% |
Where each dollar of revenue goes
| Line | Q3 2026 | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.6B | 100.0% |
| Operating profit | $1.9B | 33.5% |
| Income tax | $27.0M | 0.5% |
| Net earnings | $1.7B | 30.9% |
| Operating cash flow | $1.6B | 28.3% |
| Free cash flow | $937M | 16.8% |
Revenue, quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.6B | +9% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B | +6% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.5B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.3B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | +5% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.0B | +7% |
From Royal Caribbean Cruises' 10-Q filed Oct 27, 2026 (on EDGAR).
Questions
How does Royal Caribbean Cruises make money?
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) made $5.6B of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +9% from a year earlier. Passenger ticket revenues brought in $3.9B (69%); Onboard and other revenues brought in $1.7B (31%). Of every dollar of revenue, 33¢ was left as operating profit, 31¢ was left as net earnings.
What is Royal Caribbean Cruises' biggest business?
Passenger ticket revenues: $3.9B in the third quarter 2026, 69% of revenue, +7% from a year earlier.
What is Royal Caribbean Cruises' profit margin?
Net earnings were $1.7B, 30.9% of revenue, in the third quarter 2026; the operating margin was 33.5%.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.