Franklin Resources, Inc. vs Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd — how do they compare? Franklin Resources, Inc. trades at $33.45 (market cap $16.95B), while Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd trades at $307.59 (market cap $82.15B). The key difference: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd is far larger — about 4.8× Franklin Resources, Inc.'s market cap, and Franklin Resources, Inc. pays the higher dividend (3.96%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BEN | RCL | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $16.95B | $82.15B |
Sector | Financials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $35.77 | $365.84 |
52-Week Low | $21.18 | $246.71 |
Enterprise Value | $29.90B | $104.79B |
Dividend Yield | 3.96% | 1.63% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Franklin Resources (BEN) trades at $33.56, up 0.12% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and consistent earnings beats. The company reported record AUM of $1.80 trillion as of July 31, 2026, driven by strong inflows and diversification efforts. Valuation ratios include a P/E of 22.69 and P/S of 1.85, while profitability shows a net income margin of 8.72%.
The outlook is positive with analyst consensus price target of $36.50, though risks include volatile cash flows and competitive pressures. Upside potential hinges on sustained AUM growth and margin expansion, while investor sentiment is mixed with 59% hold ratings amid recent institutional selling.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) trades at $309.24, up 0.4% with a bullish technical signal. The company shows strong fundamental momentum with Q2 2026 EPS beating expectations at $4.21 vs. $3.98 estimate, and revenue growth accelerating from $8.8B in 2022 to $17.9B in 2025. Net income margin improved to 23.54% while ROE stands at 45.33%. Recent news highlights strong demand and record pricing for 2027 bookings, though geopolitical concerns have slightly tempered European outlook.
RCL presents a compelling growth story with robust earnings momentum and analyst consensus pointing to 11% upside to the $343.09 price target. Key risks include geopolitical impacts on European itineraries, elevated debt levels at $18.47B long-term, and capital-intensive fleet expansion. The stock's premium valuation at P/E 18.97 requires continued execution on growth targets to justify current levels.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Franklin Resources provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. At the end of August 2022, Franklin had $1.388 trillion in managed assets, composed primarily of equity (32%), fixed-income (38%), multi-asset/balanced (10%) funds, alternatives (16%), and money market funds (4%). Distribution tends to be weighted more toward retail investors (49% of AUM) investors, as opposed to institutional (49%) and high-net-worth (2%) clients. Franklin is also one of the more global firms of the U.S.-based asset managers with more than 35% of its AUM invested in global/international strategies and 25% of managed assets sourced from clients domiciled outside the United States.
Read more on BEN →Royal Caribbean is the world's second-largest cruise company, operating 64 ships across five global and partner brands in the cruise vacation industry, with 10 more ships on order. Brands the company operates include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The company also has a 50% investment in a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, allowing it to compete on the basis of innovation, quality of ships and service, variety of itineraries, choice of destinations, and price. The company completed the divestiture of its Azamara brand in the first quarter of 2021.
Read more on RCL →