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Data last updated: Jul 18, 2026
Snapshot (as of Jul 18, 2026): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) pays a $5.00 annual dividend ($1.50 quarterly), yielding 1.74% at $286.96/share. Next ex-dividend date 2026-06-03. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 1.74%
Annual Dividend: $5.00 per share
Payout Ratio: 8.6%
Ex-Dividend Date: 2026-06-03
Dividend Frequency: quarterly
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Years of Dividend History: 29
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. dividend currently yields 1.69%, backed by a $5.00 per-share annual rate paid over the trailing twelve months. The company operates a global fleet of 61 vessels across brands including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, calling on roughly 1,000 destinations worldwide. RCL pays dividends quarterly, with the next ex-dividend date on June 3, 2026, and a last declared amount of $1.50 per share. With a beta of 1.764, RCL stock carries above-average price volatility, making it a better fit for growth-and-income investors than those seeking steady, low-risk income.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. pays out 8.6% of earnings as dividends, a payout ratio classified as conservative (below 40%). That figure leaves substantial room between current earnings and the dividend obligation, which means the payout is not stretched even at the current $5.00 annual rate. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. dividend safety benefits from this wide cushion, though the company operates in Consumer Cyclical travel services, a sector where demand and earnings can shift sharply with economic conditions. A beta of 1.764 reflects that earnings volatility is a real factor, and any meaningful earnings decline would be the primary pressure point on the dividend.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. dividend history shows a CAGR of 8.6% per year from 2002 to 2025. Per-share payments grew from $0.52 to $3.50 over that span (2026 is a partial year and excluded from the CAGR calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 68.2% in 2013. The data also contains at least one year-over-year decline exceeding 5%, so the growth path has not been uninterrupted. For income investors focused on dividend growth, the long-run 8.6% annual rate is meaningful, but the history makes clear that RCL's dividend is not immune to cuts during downturns.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +5.7% | $2.96 (2019) | $3.50 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +10.1% | $2.16 (2017) | $3.50 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +23.0% | $0.44 (2012) | $3.50 (2025) |
RCL stock fits growth-and-income investors who want dividend expansion over time and can tolerate a low current yield. At 1.69%, the yield is low (below 2%), so the income alone does not make a strong case for income-focused investors. The 8.6% annual CAGR over more than two decades is the real draw, showing that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has compounded its payout meaningfully when business conditions allowed. The trade-off is clear: investors get a conservative 8.6% payout ratio that protects the dividend, but they accept a yield that delivers little immediate income and a cyclical business that has produced dividend cuts in the past.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-06-03 | $1.5000 |
| 2026-03-06 | $1.5000 |
| 2025-12-26 | $1.0000 |
| 2025-09-25 | $1.0000 |
| 2025-06-04 | $0.7500 |
| 2025-03-07 | $0.7500 |
| 2024-12-27 | $0.5500 |
| 2024-09-20 | $0.4000 |
| 2020-03-05 | $0.7800 |
| 2019-12-19 | $0.7800 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $3.0000 |
| 2025 | $3.5000 |
| 2024 | $0.9500 |
| 2020 | $0.7800 |
| 2019 | $2.9600 |
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