In light of this, below is a list of the top S&P consumer discretionary holdings arranged according to their growth factor grade. The grades are given on a scale from A+ to F, with grades of B- or above considered a Buy and grades of D+ or below considered a Sell.

The list is topped by Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), with a growth grade of A+. Realty Income (O) and Tesla (TSLA) follow with A grades, while Amazon.com (AMZN) holds an A- rating. Booking Holdings (BKNG) rounds out the Buy-rated stocks with a B grade.

The remainder of the list includes several major consumer brands that fall into lower growth categories. O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) holds a C grade, while Starbucks (SBUX) and The TJX Companies (TJX) both carry C- grades. Lowe’s Companies (LOW) and McDonald’s (MCD) sit at the bottom with D grades, and The Home Depot (HD) holds the lowest position with a D- grade.

The growth factor grade is a quantitative assessment used in stock analysis to evaluate a company’s growth prospects and expansion trajectory. This metric systematically analyzes multiple growth-related indicators to determine how effectively a company is scaling its business operations.

Growth factor grades are typically expressed on a letter scale (A+ through F), where higher grades indicate stronger growth characteristics relative to sector peers. An A+ grade represents exceptional growth potential, while lower grades suggest more moderate expansion or potential headwinds.

Here is the list:

1. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), Growth grade: A+

2. Realty Income (O), Growth grade: A

3. Tesla (TSLA), Growth grade: A

4. Amazon.com (AMZN), Growth grade: A-

5. Booking Holdings (BKNG), Growth grade: B

6. O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), Growth grade: C

7. Starbucks (SBUX), Growth grade: C-

8. The TJX Companies (TJX), Growth grade: C-

9. Lowe’s Companies (LOW), Growth grade: D

10. McDonald’s (MCD), Growth grade: D

11. The Home Depot (HD), Growth grade: D-

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Similar to the airline industry, fuel is one of the cruise industry’s largest—and most volatile—expenses. According to industry statistics, a single ship can consume as much as 250 tons of fuel daily at a cost of more than $100K per day.

To illustrate the exposure the industry has to fuel costs, for the fourth quarter, Royal Caribbean (RCL) consumed 439K metric tons of fuel at a cost of $667 per metric ton (net of hedging). For all of 2026, the company anticipates it will use 1.76M metric tons of fuel at a cost of $1.173B. This, however, is before the recent 30% spike in fuel prices over the past week.

Under prior conditions, Royal Caribbean forecasted 60% of fuel was hedged via swaps at $474 per metric ton. The remaining 40%, however, remains vulnerable to market fluctuations (either up or down). Using 2026 forecasts, if the price of fuel remains high, 704K metric tons of fuel could be subject to a ~30% price increase (~$867 per metric ton) at a cost that could exceed $600M.

Of course, fuel prices will most likely moderate and could go below $474/metric ton. But the knee-jerk reaction to the spike in oil is having a meaningful impact on the current share price of the major cruise operators.

Accordingly, shares remain underwater, with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) sustaining the heaviest losses, down more than 23% as a result of a 6-day losing streak.

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In a letter to shareholders, Elliott

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Management View

• CEO Jason Liberty stated that “2025 was an outstanding year, defined by strong demand for our brands and vacation experiences, disciplined execution of our strategies, strong balance sheet management and robust financial

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The revenue growth, however, was just half the story as Royal Caribbean (RCL) successfully controlled costs and navigated the saturated Caribbean market.

“Another year of flat to +1% of net cruise cost ex-fuel is decidedly better than expectations of UBS’s +2.0% estimate,” UBS analyst Robin Farley writes, with the cost profile also contributing to the full year EPS outlook of $17.70 to $18.10 per share.

Besides financials, Royal Caribbean’s fleet expansion is contributing to the stock’s performance with the upcoming addition of 10 new ships for its Celebrity River business, along with two new ocean ships.

“With this announcement, RCL grows into the highly fragmented European river market, with announced additional sailings on the Danube and the Rhine,” noted BofA Securities’ Andrew Didora.

The pressure from Caribbean oversaturation should be felt more acutely in the first quarter. But RCL’s yield growth guidance of 1.0% to 1.5% is “good enough and suggests RCL can still grow total pricing despite these headwinds,” says BNP Paribas analyst Xian Siew, adding that once the company is past some of the Caribbean headwinds, “pricing can reaccelerate with a path to 3%+.”

“With RCL’s growth story still intact and better-than-expected cost controls driving upside on full year EPS guidance, we think this should be a green light to cruise and remain Outperform,” Siew adds.

Royal Caribbean’s (RCL) upbeat outlook and outsized gain in the share price is lifting the segment, with shares of Carnival Corp (CCL), Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH), and Viking Holdings (VIK) all trading with gains of 5% to 8%.

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