Viking Leads Year-to-Date Performance Among Hotel, Resort, and Cruise Line Stocks
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 19 2025
0mins
Source: SeekingAlpha
Consumer Discretionary Sector Performance: The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector has gained +7.2% year-to-date in 2025, underperforming compared to the overall S&P 500, which has a higher performance. The sector ranks eighth among 11 major sectors.
Top Performing Stocks: Viking leads the hotels, resorts, and cruise lines sub-sector with a YTD performance of +58.76%, followed by Expedia (+53.27%) and Atour Lifestyle (+51.51%). Carnival, despite ranking ninth with +13.72%, has the highest rating at Strong Buy 4.78.
Quant Ratings Overview: The performance of various stocks is accompanied by Quant Ratings, with Viking rated at Buy 4.08, H World at Buy 4.41, and Carnival at Strong Buy 4.78, indicating varying levels of investment confidence.
Consumer Discretionary ETFs: Several ETFs are associated with the consumer discretionary sector, including XLY, VCR, FXD, FDIS, RSPD, and RXI, which provide investors with options to invest in this sector.
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Analyst Views on VIK
Wall Street analysts forecast VIK stock price to fall
12 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
3 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 75.150
Low
59.00
Averages
71.93
High
85.00
Current: 75.150
Low
59.00
Averages
71.93
High
85.00
About VIK
Viking Holdings Ltd provides destination-focused journeys on rivers, oceans, and lakes around the world. The Company offers travel experiences on all seven continents in all three categories of the cruise industry - river, ocean, and expedition cruising. Its cruise line offers experiences on all seven continents with itineraries across five oceans, 21 rivers and five lakes, and a focus primarily on destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean, rather than the Caribbean. The Company’s fleet includes 58 longships accommodating 190 passengers, 11 ocean ships, including the Viking Yi Dun, accommodating 930 or 998 passengers and two expedition ships accommodating 378 passengers. Its in-house operations include Nautical, Hotel Services and Land Operations Departments. Its fleet comprised of various ships, such as Viking Gymir, Viking Fjorgyn, Viking Radgrid, Viking Kari, Viking Vilhjalm, Viking Hermod, Viking Hemming, Viking Neptune, Viking Polaris, Viking Octantis, among others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Strong Market Demand: Royal Caribbean is launching a river cruise business through its upscale Celebrity brand, and due to surging demand, the cruise line has doubled its expected fleet size from 10 to 20 ships, indicating a significant interest in high-end river cruising that could reshape the industry landscape.
- Increased Competitive Pressure: With Royal Caribbean's entry, long-time river cruise leader Viking may face heightened competitive pressure, prompting a reassessment of its market strategy to maintain its market share in the evolving landscape.
- Investor Attention: Investors in Viking should closely monitor Royal Caribbean's expansion plans, particularly regarding their potential impact on the high-end market, which could influence Viking's stock performance and future growth expectations.
- Shifting Industry Dynamics: This move by Royal Caribbean not only reflects a rising consumer interest in river cruising but may also compel other cruise lines to reconsider their product offerings and market positioning to adapt to the new market demands.
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- Revenue Multiple Analysis: NCLH's market cap to revenue ratio stands at 1.1, far below Carnival's 1.7, Royal Caribbean's 4.9, and Viking's 5.3, suggesting a disadvantage in revenue generation capability that may lead to investor caution regarding its future growth.
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- Debt Management Improvement: With rising income, Royal Caribbean successfully paid down its $21 billion debt from the pandemic, enhancing financial stability and providing funding for future investments.
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- Strong Market Demand: Royal Caribbean is launching a river cruise business through its upscale Celebrity brand, and due to surging demand, the cruise line has doubled its expected fleet size from 10 to 20 ships, indicating a significant interest in high-end river cruising that could reshape the industry landscape.
- Increased Competitive Pressure: With Royal Caribbean's entry, long-time river cruise leader Viking may face heightened competitive pressure, prompting a reassessment of its market strategy to maintain its market share in the evolving landscape.
- Investor Attention: Investors in Viking should closely monitor Royal Caribbean's expansion plans, particularly regarding their potential impact on the high-end market, which could influence Viking's stock performance and future growth expectations.
- Shifting Industry Dynamics: This move by Royal Caribbean not only reflects a rising consumer interest in river cruising but may also compel other cruise lines to reconsider their product offerings and market positioning to adapt to the new market demands.
See More
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- Valuation Comparison: Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) trades at a forward P/E ratio of less than nine, significantly lower than Carnival's 12, Royal Caribbean's 18, and Viking's 22, indicating its relative undervaluation in the industry but raising concerns about its profitability.
- Stock Performance: Over the past year, NCLH's stock has slid more than 20%, while its peers have posted double-digit percentage gains, reflecting a lack of market confidence in NCLH and potentially impacting its future financing and investor appeal.
- Revenue Multiple Analysis: NCLH's market cap to revenue ratio stands at 1.1, far below Carnival's 1.7, Royal Caribbean's 4.9, and Viking's 5.3, suggesting a disadvantage in revenue generation capability that may lead to investor caution regarding its future growth.
- Future Outlook: Although NCLH achieved a 5% revenue growth in Q3, with an 11% increase projected for Q4, its ability to sustain performance improvements and change market perceptions of its
See More
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- Palantir Soars on Earnings: Following the release of strong earnings, Palantir's stock surged, reflecting the company's ongoing growth and profitability in the data analytics sector, which may enhance market expectations for its future performance.
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- Improving Market Sentiment: With the rebound of major indexes and improved performance of individual stocks, market sentiment is gradually warming, and the optimistic outlook on future economic prospects may encourage more capital to flow into the stock market.
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- Debt Management Improvement: With rising income, Royal Caribbean successfully paid down its $21 billion debt from the pandemic, enhancing financial stability and providing funding for future investments.
- New Ship Construction Plans: The company launched the Star of the Seas in 2025 and plans to build three additional ships over the next three years to meet the growing demand for cruise vacations, further solidifying its market position.
- Long-Term Investment Potential: Despite competition from Viking Holdings, Royal Caribbean's lower P/E ratio and strong performance are expected to continue outperforming the S&P 500, attracting the attention of long-term investors.
See More
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- Significant Inflow Growth: The Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF added 600,000 units, marking a 40% increase in inflows, indicating strong investor interest that could drive future performance.
- Market Performance Volatility: In morning trading today, Fiserv is down approximately 0.8%, while Viking Holdings is lower by about 0.3%, reflecting cautious market sentiment that may impact the overall performance of the ETF.
- ETF Structural Analysis: The underperformance of major components within the MKTN ETF could exert pressure on investor confidence, prompting a reassessment of investment strategies and influencing fund flows.
- Investor Sentiment Shift: Despite market fluctuations, the inflow growth of the Federated Hermes ETF suggests that investors are still seeking stable investment opportunities, potentially guiding more capital into similar market-neutral strategies.
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