Share count
443Mpeak FY2025
← All companies ← VFSWW Manual VINP → ← USEA Marine Shipping ZIM →
VIK, Viking Holdings Ltd
Marine Shipping capital-intensive
Revenue is River (47%), Ocean (44%) and Other (9%).
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2025
$6.5B
+21.9% YoY · 27% 3-yr CAGR
Vital signs · TTM, with 4-yr average
Revenue $6.5B 4-yr avg $4.9B
The business in brief
What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- A capital-intensive business, run on heavy physical assets that must be kept working and earn a return above what they cost to maintain.
- What moves the needle
- Gross margin has run about 39% and operating margin about 17% through the cycle, a solid spread between what it charges and what the product costs to make. The operating margin has swung widely — from 2.0% to 23% — on a steadier 39% gross margin, so what moves it sits below the gross line, in operating spend and one-off charges more than in the cost of the product itself.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 20-F →The largest slice of sales is River at 47%, but the profit engine is Ocean: 44% of revenue and 53% of the profitable segments' operating profit. Other ran a $4M operating loss.
Revenue by reportable segment, FY2025
Operating profit profitable segments only
- River47%$3.1B47% of profit
- Ocean44%$2.9B53% of profit
- Other9%$562Mloss of $4M
From the segment footnote of the company's own 20-F. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of the profitable segments' operating profit (a loss-making segment carries its loss in dollars in the legend, not a share of the bar), before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2022–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMDec 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||
| $3.2B | $4.7B | $5.3B | $6.5B | $6.5B | RevenueRevenue |
| 32% | 39% | 42% | 43% | 43% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| $63M | $816M | $1.1B | $1.5B | $1.5B | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| 2.0% | 17.3% | 20.2% | 23.1% | 23.1% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| $415M | ($1.9B) | $152M | $1.1B | $1.1B | Net incomeNet inc. |
| 2% | — | 10% | 2% | 2% | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||
| $373M | $1.4B | $2.1B | $2.6B | $2.6B | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $278M | $254M | $261M | $285M | — | DepreciationDeprec. |
| ($320M) | $3.0B | $1.7B | $1.1B | $1.4B | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $46M | $49M | $18M | $0 | $0 | Dividends paidDiv. paid |
| — | — | — | 61% | 61% | ROICROIC |
| — | — | — | 105% | 105% | Return on equityROE |
| — | — | — | 105% | 105% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | |||||
| $1.3B | $1.5B | $2.5B | $3.8B | $3.8B | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| — | $345M | $239M | $142M | $142M | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| — | $55M | $91M | $96M | $96M | InventoryInvent. |
| — | $245M | $236M | $259M | $259M | Accounts payablePayables |
| — | $155M | $94M | ($21M) | ($21M) | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| — | $2.4B | $3.2B | $4.5B | $4.5B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| — | $4.4B | $5.2B | $5.7B | $5.7B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| — | 0.5× | 0.6× | 0.8× | 0.8× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| — | $8M | $8M | $8M | $8M | GoodwillGoodwill |
| — | $8.6B | $10.1B | $12.2B | $12.2B | Total assetsAssets |
| — | — | $4.9B | $5.1B | $5.1B | Total debtDebt |
| — | — | $2.4B | $1.3B | $1.3B | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| 0.1× | 1.5× | 2.8× | 4.1× | 4.1× | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| ($3.4B) | ($5.3B) | ($223M) | $1.1B | $1.1B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | |||||
| 333M | 333M | 364M | 443M | 442.72B | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $9.54 | $14.15 | $14.65 | $14.66 | $0.01 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $1.25 | $-5.56 | $0.42 | $2.59 | $0.00 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $0.14 | $0.15 | $0.05 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Dividends / shareDiv/sh |
| $-10.28 | $-15.84 | $-0.61 | $2.47 | $0.00 | Book value / shareBVPS |
Share counts before 2024 are restated ×1.5 for a stock split, so per-share figures sit on one basis.
The diluted share count moved ×998.25 into TTM — shares issued, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.
Per-share growththe realized rate an owner's share compounded
| 3-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | +15.4%/yr | +15.4%/yr (3-yr) |
| EPS | +27.6%/yr | +27.6%/yr (3-yr) |
The record, charted
FY2022–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked. Share counts on the current split basis.
Gross margin
43%low FY2022
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
FY2022FY2025
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2025 20-F · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- AdequateOperating income $1.5B ÷ interest expense $363M
What this means
Comfortable in a normal year, but below the margin of safety Graham looked for. Worth checking how stable the coverage has been across a full cycle.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? $1.3B · 0.9× operating profitModest net debtCash $3.8B − debt $5.1B
What this means
Netting $3.8B of cash and short-term investments against $5.1B of debt leaves $1.3B owed, about 0.9× a year's operating profit (3.4× on the gross debt, before the cash). Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Negative, funded by othersDSO 8 + DIO 9 − DPO 26 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. A negative cycle is a quiet moat: suppliers and customers fund the operation (Buffett's “float”), the company grows on other people's money.
Is it a good business?
- Very high (≥25%)NOPAT $1.5B ÷ invested capital $2.4B (debt + equity − cash)Industry peers: median 7%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Not enough dataIndustry peers: median 12%
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Cash-backedCash from ops $2.6B ÷ net income $1.1B
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? —Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Graham’s defensive tests · 1 of 3 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size PassRevenue ≥ $2B · $6.5B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity MissCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 0.79×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt MissDebt ≤ working capital · $5.1B vs ($1.2B) WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $-0.41/share (latest year $2.59), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $2.47/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2022–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 3 of 4
What this means
Lost money in 1 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Operating margin 10% → 22% (2-yr avg ends)
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin widened — about 10% early to 22% lately, median 17% — pricing power intact or improving.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Worst year 2022 · 2.0% op. margin
What this means
Stayed profitable even in its hardest year, the resilience that survives recessions.
- Dividend record paid
What this means
Paid a dividend in 3 of the years on record.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Dec 31, 2025Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assets$4.5B
- Cash & short-term investments$3.8B
- Receivables$142M
- Inventory$96M
- Other current assets$461M
Current liabilities$5.7B
- Accounts payable$259M
- Other current liabilities$5.5B
Current ratio0.79×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio0.77×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio0.67×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital($1.2B)the cushion left after near-term bills
Its current ratio is below 1, which usually reads as strain; here it is likely structural strength. This business collects from customers before it pays suppliers (a negative cash-conversion cycle), so the balance sheet is funded by that float, the way Costco's and Amazon's are. The low ratio can be the edge, not the risk; the cash-conversion cycle and the debt due above say which.
Deeper floors
Tangible book value$1.1Bequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Debt incl. operating leases$5.4B$239M of it operating leases
Deferred revenue$4.6Bcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Peers, Marine Shipping
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCLCarnival Corp. | $26.6B | 38% | 15.0% | 9% | 13% |
| RCLRoyal Caribbean Cruises | $17.9B | 44% | 19.4% | 7% | 22% |
| NCLHNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | $9.8B | 38% | 15.7% | 9% | 11% |
| VIKViking Holdings Ltd | $6.5B | 41% | 18.7% | 61% | — |
| KEXKirby | $3.4B | — | 7.7% | 4% | 10% |
| MATXMatson | $3.3B | 96% | 11.4% | 11% | 12% |
| TDWTidewater Inc. | $1.4B | — | -12.5% | -6% | 3% |
| INSWInternational Seaways Inc. Common Stock | $843M | — | 12.3% | 3% | 33% |
| Group median | — | 41% | 13.6% | 8% | — |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the home-market price, not the US ADR quote. Viking Holdings Ltd reports in USD, and every figure here (owner earnings, book value, the share count) is on that ordinary-share basis. Enter the price on the same basis: the local-exchange quote per ordinary share. A US ADR price in dollars bundles the ADR-to-ordinary ratio, so it will not reconcile with these figures and would throw the multiple off.
Viking Holdings Ltd is profitable, but its owner-earnings base could not be formed from this filing’s tagged data (operating cash flow or capital spending is missing), so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.
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The assumptions
Revenue, delivered26%/yr’22→’25
Enter a price to run it.
Owner earnings it must reach—
Margin the price demands—
Owner-earnings margin today—
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "Viking Holdings Ltd (VIK), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/VIK, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← VFSWW its page in the Manual VINP →
Industry order: ← USEA the Marine Shipping chapter ZIM →