Royal Caribbean Group management check
RCL · Consumer Discretionary · Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines · CEO Mr. Jason Liberty
Filings as of
6 good · 0 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $380, against $152 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.83 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$24.0m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $4.3bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $4.0m sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.6% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.0% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
2 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Jason Liberty. 2 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 91 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 71 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 36 |
| Dilution | 70 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines, by management score. Royal Caribbean Group is 2nd of 47 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 17, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Jason Liberty | $24.0m | $49.0m | $6.7m | $380 | $152 | $4.3bn |
| 2024 | — | $19.5m | $76.6m | $6.0m | $310 | $141 | $2.9bn |
| 2023 | — | $17.2m | $44.2m | $6.7m | $173 | $121 | $1.7bn |
| 2022 | — | $10.8m | $3.8m | $4.7m | $66 | $89 | −$2.2bn |
| 2021 | — | $15.8m | $15.3m | $11.2m | $103 | $111 | −$5.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share. Its other key measures: Adjusted EPS, ROIC, Adjusted EBITDA.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $4.0m sold in six months.
- SoldMichael W BayleyPres&CEO, Royal Caribbean Intl$4.0mJul 29, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 20, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 6, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 20, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 20, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 3, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 11, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 9, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 28, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 147% of net income, and $668.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.5bn | $8.8bn | $13.9bn | $16.5bn | $17.9bn |
| Net income | −$5.3bn | −$2.2bn | $1.7bn | $2.9bn | $4.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | $64.0m | $36.0m | $126.0m | $267.0m | $175.0m |
| Buybacks | $0 | — | $0 | $0 | $1.2bn |
| Dividends | $0 | $0 | $0 | $107.0m | $824.0m |
| Diluted shares | 252m | 255m | 283m | 279m | 274m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.