RCL vs XLY: Correlation
How closely do Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.54, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are RCL and XLY?
Over the past 3 years, RCL and XLY moved with a correlation of 0.54, which is moderate. The past 12 months show a weaker link (0.30) than the 3-year average (0.54). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.58, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 438.7 %².
By 3-year correlation, XLY places #17 of the 37 assets tracked against RCL. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months XLY outperformed by 19.2 percentage points (-19.3% for RCL against -0.1% for XLY). The rolling one-year correlation moved between 0.31 and 0.70 over the past three years, a moderate range. Note the risk asymmetry: RCL runs 2.1 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
RCL vs XLY: side by side
| RCL (Royal Caribbean Group) | XLY (Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -19.3% | -0.1% |
| 5-year return | +257.6% | +31.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 41.3% | 19.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.46 | 1.15 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -35.0% | -26.0% |
| Market cap | $76.2B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 17.9 | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.72% | 0.78% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $22.5B |
| Sector / category | Consumer Discretionary | Sector ETF |
XLY is a Consumer Cyclical fund from State Street Investment Management: $22.5B under management, 47 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 0.78% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | RCL | XLY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -35.7% | -36.3% |
| 2023 | +162.0% | +39.6% |
| 2024 | +79.0% | +26.5% |
| 2025 | +22.5% | +7.4% |
| 2026 | +3.2% | -2.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
RCL represents 1.8% of XLY's portfolio, so part of any move in XLY is RCL itself, and the correlation between them is partly mechanical.
Are RCL and XLY good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.54 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between RCL and XLY?
The RCL/XLY correlation stands at 0.54 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.30, 5 years: 0.58), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is XLY a good diversifier for RCL?
To a limited degree. At 0.54 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.54 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.54 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/rcl-vs-xly.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/rcl-vs-xly/)
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Related comparisons
Hubs: RCL correlations · XLY correlations
