Viking (NYSE:VIK) vs. Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CUK) Critical Analysis

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CUK) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Carnival Co. & and Viking, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carnival Co. &	0	0	0	0	0.00
Viking	0	2	10	0	2.83

Viking has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 13.17%. Given Viking’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Viking is more favorable than Carnival Co. &.

Profitability

This table compares Carnival Co. & and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carnival Co. &	6.39%	22.30%	3.26%
Viking	-10.97%	N/A	-1.53%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

23.8% of Carnival Co. & shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Carnival Co. & shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Carnival Co. & and Viking”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carnival Co. &	$24.48 billion	0.18	-$74.00 million	$1.12	20.38
Viking	$4.71 billion	4.33	-$1.86 billion	N/A	N/A

Carnival Co. & has higher revenue and earnings than Viking.

Summary

Carnival Co. & beats Viking on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carnival Co. &

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches. The company offers its services under the Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises, and Cunard brand. Additionally, it sells its cruises primarily through travel agents, tour operators, vacation planners, and websites. Carnival Corporation & plc was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Viking

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.