We recently published an article titled Why These 15 Travel & Leisure Stocks Are Skyrocketing So Far In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL) stands against the other travel and leisure stocks.
So far, 2025 has been pretty good for the travel and leisure industry. The days of revenge travel seem to have staying power, with travelers planning to spend more and take longer trips.
Travelers in 2025 are expected to spend 9% more, and the global travel and tourism industry is projected to generate $955.9 billion in 2025 and grow at an annual rate of 3.9%. In addition, the global gambling market is expected to reach $618.69 billion in 2025 and grow 8.1%.
It’s tough to find the right stocks in these industries. No one can guarantee the companies that are truly poised to capitalize on these megatrends and deliver consistent returns. However, looking at the ones that have delivered the most gains so far this year is a good starting point.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing travel and leisure stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
An aerial view of a luxurious cruise ship, surrounded by the blue horizon.
Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 52
Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL) is a vacation company with a fleet of 66 ships across its five brands.
The stock has surged after it performed better than analysts expected in 2024. It also expects solid results this year. Royal Caribbean Group reported an EPS of $10.94 and adjusted EPS of $11.8. The company’s strong demand led to an expected adjusted earnings growth of 23% in 2025, with adjusted EPS projected to be in the range of $14.35 to $14.65.
Moreover, the company is expanding its vacation offerings with the launch of Celebrity River Cruises and new ships. It is set to begin taking bookings this year on its new river cruises, which are scheduled to start on 10 new ships in 2027. In 2025, capacity is expected to increase by 5% with the introduction of Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel.
The consensus price target of $284.12 implies 8.8% upside.
RCL stock is up 13.2% year-to-date.
Overall RCL ranks 14th on our list of the travel and leisure stocks that are skyrocketing so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of RCL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RCL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
