AAL vs DAL vs LUV Stock Comparison

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$76.75 -6.1% 1M +30.6% 1Y
Market cap
$51.86B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
7 wins
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$41.74 +1.7% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.96B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Delta Air Lines leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Delta Air Lines 7, Southwest Airlines 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAALDALLUVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.09B $51.86B $20.96B DAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -24.8x 15.8x 19.9x DAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.8x 15.7x DAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +14.1% +14.5% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% 4.6% 3.3% DAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 10.8% 8.2% DAL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 1.3x 0.8x LUV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.2% +30.6% +31.9% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.8%/yr +14.1%/yr -2.6%/yr DAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 38.6% 43.4% DAL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 39/100 59/100 LUV

Percentile Scorecard

AALDALLUV

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAALDALLUV
Valuation 70 #41 of 136 67 #45 of 136 54 #63 of 136
Growth 14 #105 of 122 48 #64 of 122 88 #15 of 122
Profitability 24 #91 of 119 48 #62 of 119 43 #68 of 119
Financial Health 8 #136 of 147 22 #115 of 147 32 #100 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 7 #78 of 84 77 #20 of 84
Overall 29 39 59
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • DAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAALDALLUVSPY
1 month -9.3%-6.1%+1.7% -1.0%
3 months -16.4%-9.8%-7.4% +2.9%
6 months +0.1%+12.1%+5.8% +6.4%
Year to date -21.0%+10.6%+1.0% +11.4%
1 year -5.2%+30.6%+31.9% +13.1%
3 years +8.0%+139.7%+74.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.6%+33.9%+20.4% +21.5%
5 years -36.8%+93.1%-12.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.8%+14.1%-2.6% +10.9%
10 years -69.6%+86.4%-1.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year -11.2%+6.4%-0.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAALDALLUVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%38.6%43.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.8%34.2%38.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.921.701.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.110.790.73 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-48.0%-57.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-18.1%-23.8% -2.5%
52-week high $18.15$93.66$54.80 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$55.65$29.67 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAALDALLUV
P/E now vs peer median -24.6xmedian 16.0x 15.3xmedian 16.0x 19.4xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x 0.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.4xmedian 8.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 11.5x 16.7xmedian 11.5x -45.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 1.2x 2.2xmedian 1.2x 2.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.86median 0.82 -8.23median 0.82 0.48median 0.82

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAALDALLUV
Revenue $58.34B $71.80B $31.55B
Operating income $1.01B $5.29B $1.39B
Net income -$326.00M $3.29B $1.05B
Free cash flow $285.00M $3.02B -$449.00M
EPS (diluted) $-0.49 $4.99 $2.13
Cash & equivalents – $3.79B $3.62B
Total debt $28.93B $13.95B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 662.61M 659.00M 494.00M
Enterprise value -$15.95B $34.04B $6.98B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAALDALLUV
P/E -24.6x 15.3x 19.4x
P/FCF 28.1x 16.7x -45.5x
P/Operating cash flow 1.8x 6.3x 7.4x
P/S 0.1x 0.7x 0.6x
P/B -2.0x 2.2x 2.8x
P/Tangible book -1.3x 3.1x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 10.4x 7.7x 7.7x
EV/EBIT 30.0x 11.5x 16.4x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.8x 0.7x
EV/FCF 106.0x 20.1x -50.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.9x 7.6x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.86 -8.23 0.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALDALLUV
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 14.1% 14.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 7.8% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.7% -12.9% 339.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -41.0% -2.3% 78.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -157.5% -28.9% 177.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% -1.1% 28.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -157.3% -29.5% 195.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.8% -1.9% 40.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% 0.3% 36.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 4.0% -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.8% -1.7% -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 36.6% 20.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALDALLUV
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 5.0% 11.0% 9.4%
Operating margin 1.7% 7.4% 4.4%
Pretax margin -0.6% 6.1% 4.3%
Net margin -0.6% 4.6% 3.3%
FCF margin 0.5% 4.2% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 11.1% 8.7%
Return on equity – 14.8% 14.6%
Return on assets -0.5% 3.8% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 10.8% 8.2%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 10.0% 8.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -13.4x 2.4x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALDALLUV
Debt / assets 45.0% 16.2% 19.3%
Debt / equity -7.3x 0.6x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 1.3x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 101.5x 4.6x -13.1x
Liabilities / assets 106.2% 73.8% 76.0%
Equity / assets -6.2% 26.2% 24.0%
Interest coverage 0.6x – 5.9x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.2x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.64 1.48 2.20

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAALDALLUV
Dividend yield – 1.0% 1.7%
Net buyback yield – – 6.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 1.0% 7.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAALDALLUV
Forward P/E – 13.8xFY2026 15.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $5.57FY2026 $2.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -375.0%FY2026 -4.3%FY2026 +186.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +42.0% +62.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.52BFY2026 $70.62BFY2026 $31.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 +21.2%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.1% -5.3% +15.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALDALLUV
Held by institutions 78.0% 88.2% 92.9%
Institutions holding 578 1,511 930
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% +0.6% +4.4%
Institutions buying 276 815 476
Institutions selling 182 483 280
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.69 1.70

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AALDALLUV
AAL 1.00 0.85 0.75
DAL 0.85 1.00 0.75
LUV 0.75 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, DAL and LUV?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B, Delta Air Lines (DAL) $51.86B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAL, DAL and LUV?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Airlines (AAL) -24.8x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 15.8x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Delta Air Lines (DAL) is cheapest (Delta Air Lines (DAL) 13.8x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Delta Air Lines (DAL) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +30.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%. Over five years, Delta Air Lines (DAL) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Delta Air Lines (DAL) has been the steadiest (American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAL, DAL and LUV?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Delta Air Lines (DAL) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.