AAL vs RYAAY vs SKYW Stock Comparison

American Airlines, Ryanair Holdings and Skywest Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$55.29 +0.4% 1M -11.5% 1Y
Market cap
$28.86B
P/E
15.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.33B
Div. yield
2.43%
Airlines Industrials
6 wins
SKYW Skywest Inc
$81.68 -15.3% 1M -18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.17B
P/E
7.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.26B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 6, Skywest 4, American Airlines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAALRYAAYSKYWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.66B $28.86B $3.17B RYAAY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -26.6x 15.7x 7.8x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 15.4x 7.3x SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +8.5% +7.0% RYAAY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% 10.2% 9.7% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 14.8% 8.9% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -0.6x 1.9x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.43% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.4% -11.5% -18.7% AAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.7%/yr +2.7%/yr +12.5%/yr SKYW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 36.5% 40.2% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 57/100 66/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

AALRYAAYSKYW

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

AxisAALRYAAYSKYW
Valuation 68 #44 of 137 59 #57 of 137 83 #24 of 137
Growth 12 #109 of 124 26 #92 of 124 65 #44 of 124
Profitability 24 #93 of 122 79 #27 of 122 59 #51 of 122
Financial Health 6 #138 of 147 80 #31 of 147 26 #109 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 41 #51 of 85 96 #4 of 85
Overall 28 57 66
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SKYW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAALRYAAYSKYWSPY
1 month +1.1%+0.4%-15.3% -2.3%
3 months -18.5%-7.8%-26.7% -0.7%
6 months +10.8%+3.9%+0.4% +4.8%
Year to date -14.7%-23.4%-18.7% +10.3%
1 year -0.4%-11.5%-18.7% +10.3%
3 years +9.2%+46.5%+83.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +3.0%+13.6%+22.4% +20.1%
5 years -36.6%+14.1%+80.3% +61.9%
5 years, per year -8.7%+2.7%+12.5% +10.1%
10 years -67.1%+82.9%+177.4% +258.6%
10 years, per year -10.5%+6.2%+10.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAALRYAAYSKYWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%36.5%40.2% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.3%35.5%41.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.891.361.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.01-0.32-0.47 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-54.9%-70.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.9%-25.1%-29.5% -3.5%
52-week high $18.15$73.82$115.94 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$51.33$78.40 $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.

MultipleAALRYAAYSKYW
P/E now vs peer median -26.6xmedian 16.1x 15.7xmedian 16.1x 7.8xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.9x 1.6xmedian 0.9x 0.7xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 8.1x 6.7xmedian 8.1x 5.3xmedian 8.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 11.4x 21.9xmedian 11.4x 15.9xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median -2.2xmedian 1.2x 2.2xmedian 1.2x 1.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.92median 0.75 -2.05median 0.75 0.05median 0.75

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 monthsAALRYAAYSKYW
Revenue $58.34B $18.33B $4.26B
Operating income $1.01B $2.19B $589.74M
Net income -$326.00M $2.05B $413.07M
Free cash flow $285.00M $1.31B $199.17M
EPS (diluted) $-0.49 $3.50 $10.43
Cash & equivalents – $2.86B $71.75M
Total debt $28.93B $497.18M $2.38B
Shares (diluted) 662.61M 532.20M 39.62M
Enterprise value -$15.38B $13.13B $667.38M

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
MetricAALRYAAYSKYW
P/E -26.6x 15.7x 7.8x
P/FCF 30.4x 21.9x 15.9x
P/Operating cash flow 2.0x 7.9x 4.0x
P/S 0.1x 1.6x 0.7x
P/B -2.2x 2.2x 1.1x
P/Tangible book -1.4x 2.2x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 6.7x 5.3x
EV/EBIT 30.6x 12.1x 8.4x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 1.4x 1.2x
EV/FCF 108.2x 20.2x 25.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.1x 7.3x 6.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.92 -2.05 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYSKYW
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 8.5% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 9.8% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.7% -22.5% -6.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -41.0% -3.1% 142.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -157.5% -25.5% -4.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% -5.3% 150.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -157.3% -35.1% -0.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.8% -7.6% 155.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% -16.6% -10.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% -3.7% 7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.8% -58.6% -45.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.4% -23.9% -18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYSKYW
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 5.0% 21.5% 22.1%
Operating margin 1.7% 12.0% 13.9%
Pretax margin -0.6% 12.3% 12.5%
Net margin -0.6% 10.2% 9.7%
FCF margin 0.5% 7.2% 4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 19.9% 18.8%
Return on equity – 15.5% 14.8%
Return on assets -0.5% 8.9% 5.5%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 14.8% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 15.2% 10.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -13.4x 1.8x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYSKYW
Debt / assets 45.0% 2.4% 31.7%
Debt / equity -7.3x 0.0x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -0.6x 1.9x
Debt / FCF 101.5x 0.4x 11.9x
Liabilities / assets 106.2% 37.6% 62.6%
Equity / assets -6.2% 62.4% 37.4%
Interest coverage 0.6x – 5.9x
Current ratio 0.5x 1.2x 0.6x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.65 4.09 1.74

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYSKYW
Dividend yield – 2.4% –
Net buyback yield – – 7.9%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.4% 7.9%
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.

ConsensusAALRYAAYSKYW
Forward P/E – 15.4xFY2026 7.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.14FY2026 $3.58FY2026 $11.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -416.7%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -6.1% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.78BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026 $4.61BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.4%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% 0.0% +4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALRYAAYSKYW
Held by institutions 78.0% 39.9% 92.2%
Institutions holding 580 412 351
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% -0.8% -1.1%
Institutions buying 277 192 182
Institutions selling 182 149 140
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.29 1.30

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.

AALRYAAYSKYW
AAL 1.00 0.57 0.68
RYAAY 0.57 1.00 0.52
SKYW 0.68 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, RYAAY and SKYW?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $8.66B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $28.86B, Skywest (SKYW) $3.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAL, RYAAY and SKYW?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Airlines (AAL) -26.6x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 15.7x, Skywest (SKYW) 7.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 15.4x, Skywest (SKYW) 7.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +8.5%, Skywest (SKYW) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 10.2%, Skywest (SKYW) 9.7%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8%, Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Airlines (AAL) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -0.4%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -11.5%, Skywest (SKYW) -18.7%. Over five years, Skywest (SKYW) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -8.7%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +2.7%/yr, Skywest (SKYW) +12.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: American Airlines (AAL) 0.00%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 2.43%, Skywest (SKYW) 0.00%. American Airlines (AAL) and Skywest (SKYW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (American Airlines (AAL) 47.0%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, Skywest (SKYW) 40.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAL, RYAAY and SKYW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads on 6. 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.