# How Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/ccl
> Data as of November 2, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

## The short answer

- **Returns:** +5.9% a year over the past 5 years, against +11.7% for the S&P 500. $10,000 grew to $7,100 over 10 years, against $42,000 in SPY.
- **Risk:** More volatile than the S&P 500: volatility 55.2% against 17.2%; worst decline in 10 years −90.4% against −33.7%.
- **Better options:** 6 of its 8 popular alternatives earned more with less volatility over the past 5 years, including DAL, MAR and HLT.
- **Track record:** CCL beat the S&P 500 in 15 of 29 full calendar years, and fell less than it in 2 of 10 major crashes.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on CCL alone. It places CCL (Carnival Corporation & plc) against 9 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where CCL stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CCL's full trading record, from July 1987 through October 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of November 2, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** The slide is CCL's own: it is 53.9% below its high, against 3.5% for the S&P 500. Even so, over the past 6 months, CCL rose 18.4% against 5.3% for the S&P 500 and 1.4% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** CCL rose 5.1% over the past 3 months, 4.9 points ahead of the consumer discretionary sector ETF XLY (State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%. Last month cut against the tape: CCL rose 16.7% while the S&P 500 fell 2.3%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** A behind 90% of stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years, but ahead of 83% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 3 years. On the flip side, CCL has trailed the market, rising 6.4% over the past year against 11.3% for the S&P 500 and 8.3% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** CCL turned $10,000 into $7,100 over the past decade, against $42,000 in the S&P 500. CCL's 10-year loss of 29.0% puts it behind 90% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 320%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, CCL has typically fallen 1.7 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 72.6% off CCL, against 24.5% for the S&P 500, and more than cruise line peers such as RCL (Royal Caribbean Cruises, 64.5%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, CCL has a correlation of 0.63 over 5 years, more closely than 95% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. Over 10 years, CCL's beta versus the S&P 500 was 2.29: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.4 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 2.8 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** DAL (Delta Air Lines), MAR (Marriott International) and HLT (Hilton Worldwide) earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. DAL returned 16.5% a year at 40.9% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group, hotels & resorts) and UAL (United Airlines, airlines) earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. IHG returned 21.2% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 11.7% a year at 17.2% volatility, against 5.9% at 55.2% for CCL.

## How much would $10,000 in CCL have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in CCL over the past 21 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of CCL over the same span and CCL's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in CCL at the end of October 2005 would have grown to $8,836 by October 2026, less than the $92,330 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- All five other investments on the chart ended ahead of CCL, and BKNG finished highest, at $1,998,415.

## CCL at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- CCL is still 53.9% below its all-time high.
- CCL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1987 was 90.4%, from January 2018 to October 2022. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CCL's best was 2023, when it returned 130%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 59.9%. It lost money in 13 of those years.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Discretionary (Travel Services)
- Trading since: July 24, 1987
- Market value: $40B
- Volatility (5 years): 55.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.38
- Worst decline ever: −90.4%, from January 29, 2018 to October 10, 2022; not yet back at its high

| Period | CCL total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +16.7% |
| 3 months | +5.1% |
| 6 months | +18.4% |
| year to date | −1.2% |
| 1 year | +6.4% |
| 3 years | +157% |
| 5 years | +33.3% |
| 10 years | −29.0% |

## CCL against the whole market

Where CCL ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does CCL rank among all stocks?

This section ranks CCL on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- CCL's 3-year return ranks in the top 17% of the 2,999 stocks worth at least $300 million with 3 years of history.
- CCL's 10-year return ranks in the bottom 10% of the 2,186 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | CCL | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +6.4% | 1,830 of 3,272 (top 56%) |
| 3-year return | +157% | 515 of 2,999 (top 18%) |
| 5-year return | +33.3% | 1,304 of 2,886 (top 46%) |
| 10-year return | −29.0% | 1,959 of 2,186 (top 90%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 55.2% | 2,121 of 2,886 (top 74%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.38 | 1,294 of 2,886 (top 45%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −90.4% | 1,938 of 2,183 (top 89%) |

### What has beaten CCL on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 932 stocks and 566 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CCL over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 41% of the 3,627 screened.
- Among those with at least half CCL's swings, MPC has the best return for its risk: 49.4% a year at 33.6% volatility, 39% less than CCL's 55.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.37 against 0.38 for CCL. BELFB earned the most, 76.5% a year, while still swinging less than CCL (51.8% against 55.2%).
- Among CCL's popular alternatives, HLT, MAR and RCL are in the region. HLT earned 21.2% a year against 5.9% a year for CCL, at 26.8% volatility, 51% less than CCL's 55.2%.

### Is there a better investment than CCL?

The table below lists investments that beat CCL over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among CCL's popular alternatives, DAL, MAR and HLT earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. DAL returned 16.5% a year at 40.9% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IHG (hotels & resorts) and UAL (airlines) earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. IHG returned 21.2% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%.
- Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 11.7% a year at 17.2% volatility, against 5.9% at 55.2% for CCL.

The 15 strongest of 1,498 investments that beat CCL over the past 5 years, out of 3,627 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with CCL | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CCL: Carnival Corporation & plc (this page) |  | +5.9% | 55.2% | 0.38 | −90.4% | −29.0% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.9% | 24.8% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +388% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.9% | 33.0% | 1.23 | −34.5% | +2,172% | 0.00 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +22.2% | 22.7% | 1.00 | −25.7% | +552% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [BRK-A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/brk-a): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.9% | 17.2% | 0.85 | −30.4% | +288% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [XOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +27.0% | 26.6% | 1.04 | −61.0% | +231% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [V](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +16.1% | 22.7% | 0.78 | −36.4% | +467% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [JNJ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +13.4% | 18.0% | 0.80 | −27.4% | +209% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | Payment Processing | +15.6% | 23.7% | 0.73 | −41.0% | +571% | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [KO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +14.6% | 16.9% | 0.90 | −37.0% | +211% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CVX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cvx): Chevron Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +19.6% | 25.3% | 0.84 | −55.8% | +229% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [COST](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.2% | 23.0% | 0.81 | −31.4% | +741% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [PM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +22.8% | 23.4% | 1.00 | −42.9% | +255% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MRK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrk): Merck & Co., Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +14.2% | 24.7% | 0.66 | −43.4% | +259% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [AMGN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +20.5% | 24.9% | 0.88 | −24.9% | +352% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [TD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +16.2% | 20.0% | 0.85 | −42.0% | +317% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## CCL against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against CCL, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do CCL's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Six of the eight popular alternatives, led by RCL, MAR and HLT, were both more rewarding and calmer than CCL over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, CCL returned 5.9% a year, less than the S&P 500's 11.7%, with higher volatility (55.2% against 17.2%).

### Has CCL consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares CCL with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Six of the nine popular alternatives, led by LIND, RCL and EXPE, outperformed CCL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- LIND outperformed CCL in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- HLT, MAR and RCL earned more for the risk they took than CCL (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of CCL | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CCL: Carnival Corporation & plc (this page) | +6.4% | +157% | +33.3% | −29.0% |  |  | 0.38 |
| LIND: Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. | +200% | +511% | +130% | +369% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.58 |
| [RCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rcl): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | +17.9% | +276% | +278% | +381% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| EXPE: Expedia Group, Inc. | +39.7% | +220% | +89.7% | +156% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.51 |
| [DAL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dal): Delta Air Lines, Inc. | +44.1% | +169% | +115% | +125% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.58 |
| [MAR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mar): Marriott International, Inc. | +59.1% | +131% | +171% | +565% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.84 |
| [HLT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | +41.0% | +141% | +162% | +732% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.85 |
| [BKNG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bkng): Booking Holdings Inc. | −22.9% | +38.6% | +60.4% | +172% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [VIK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vik): Viking Holdings Ltd | +44.0% | — | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| NCLH: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | −19.1% | +37.3% | −33.1% | −52.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |

### How did CCL do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where CCL ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- CCL finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CCL finished in the top quarter in two of 20 years and in the bottom quarter in six. In 2025, it ranked 3 of 10.
- Among its popular alternatives, HLT came out ahead of CCL most often, in nine of the 12 years both traded.

| Year | CCL | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +22.6% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +34.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +130% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −60.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −7.1% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −56.9% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +7.4% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −23.4% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +30.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −1.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CCL has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were CCL's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all three of CCL's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CCL fell 90.4% from January 2018 to October 2022, while the S&P 500 rose 37.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after CCL fell 71.2% from December 2004 to November 2008; it did not regain that peak until December 2014, six years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −90.4% | January 29, 2018 | October 10, 2022 | not yet | +37.1% | 2022 bear market |
| −71.2% | December 28, 2004 | November 20, 2008 | December 26, 2014 | −33.3% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −65.1% | April 12, 1999 | September 20, 2001 | October 20, 2004 | −25.8% | dot-com bust |
| −56.2% | August 24, 1989 | October 11, 1990 | April 18, 1991 | — |  |
| −51.7% | August 26, 1987 | December 3, 1987 | January 13, 1989 | — |  |

### How did CCL do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far CCL, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- CCL fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when CCL fell 72.6% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, LIND held up best, falling less than CCL in five of the six crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | CCL fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −46.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −68.9% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −3.5% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −24.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −30.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −78.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −72.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −12.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CCL move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Seven of the eight popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CCL's 0.48, led by HLT, MAR and LIND.
- HLT took just 97% of the S&P 500's losses, against 281% for CCL, while still keeping 121% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CCL captured 135% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 281% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 2.29. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CCL: Carnival Corporation & plc (this page) | 135% | 281% | 2.29 |
| LIND: Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. | 175% | 231% | 2.32 |
| [RCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rcl): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | 171% | 225% | 2.23 |
| EXPE: Expedia Group, Inc. | 104% | 146% | 1.49 |
| [DAL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dal): Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 107% | 156% | 1.35 |
| [MAR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mar): Marriott International, Inc. | 132% | 132% | 1.45 |
| [HLT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | 121% | 97.0% | 1.17 |
| [BKNG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bkng): Booking Holdings Inc. | 99.0% | 130% | 1.18 |
| NCLH: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | 128% | 294% | 2.31 |

### What diversifies CCL?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in CCL into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+5.7% for CCL alone, +10.9% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of CCL over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in eight of the 13 calendar years in which CCL lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with CCL | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CCL's 13 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.42 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 13 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.48 | +220% | 19.1% | 1.32 | 4 of 13 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.41 | +108% | 14.4% | 1.09 | 3 of 13 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.39 | +120% | 18.9% | 0.93 | 4 of 13 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.23 | +177% | 25.6% | 0.93 | 8 of 13 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.02 | +116% | 19.1% | 0.91 | 7 of 13 |
| IDV: iShares International Select Dividend ETF | 0.39 | +85.2% | 15.5% | 0.88 | 2 of 13 |
| EUFN: iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF | 0.41 | +128% | 21.8% | 0.87 | 1 of 13 |

## Common questions

### What was CCL's worst drawdown?

CCL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1987 was 90.4%, from January 2018 to October 2022. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.

### What were CCL's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, CCL's best year was 2023, when it returned 130%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -59.9%.

### Is there a better investment than CCL?

Among CCL's popular alternatives, DAL, MAR and HLT earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. DAL returned 16.5% a year at 40.9% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IHG (hotels & resorts) and UAL (airlines) earned more than CCL with less volatility over the past 5 years. IHG returned 21.2% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 5.9% a year at 55.2%.

### Is CCL more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. CCL's volatility over the past 5 years was 55.2%, 3.2 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CCL's return lands within 55.2% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is CCL's Sharpe ratio?

CCL's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.38, against 0.73 for the S&P 500, so CCL earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is CCL with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CCL's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.63 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against CCL instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CCL holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CCL?

Of the nine popular alternatives we compared, six outperformed CCL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: LIND, RCL and EXPE.

### Did CCL outperform the S&P 500?

CCL finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +22.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did CCL do in stock market crashes?

CCL fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when CCL fell 72.6% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies CCL?

These had a low correlation with CCL over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.42), DXJ (correlation 0.48) and EMLP (correlation 0.41); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.35), MPC (correlation 0.12) and MCK (correlation 0.16). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Is RCL Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rcl)
- [Is DAL Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dal)
- [Is MAR Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mar)
- [Is HLT Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt)
- [Is BKNG Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bkng)
- [Is VIK Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vik)
- [Is SCHD Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schd)
- [Is AAPL Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl)
- [Is NVDA Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)
- [Is MSFT Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft)
- [Is GOOG Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog)
- [Is AMZN Better Than the S&P 500 and the Rest of the Market?](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://betterthanspy.com/research/ccl
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against CCL live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=CCL