AAL vs RYAAY vs UAL Stock Comparison

American Airlines, Ryanair Holdings and United Airlines Holdings Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$52.53 -3.9% 1M -13.2% 1Y
Market cap
$27.97B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.19B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 6, United Airlines Holdings 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAALRYAAYUALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.09B $27.97B $32.72B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -24.8x 13.5x 9.1x UAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 14.6x 12.5x UAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +13.3% +12.3% RYAAY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% 11.4% 5.5% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 16.9% 8.9% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -0.7x 1.5x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.2% -13.2% +2.4% UAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.8%/yr +3.9%/yr +16.0%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 36.5% 48.1% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 62/100 49/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

AALRYAAYUAL

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

AxisAALRYAAYUAL
Valuation 70 #41 of 136 60 #55 of 136 74 #36 of 136
Growth 14 #105 of 122 52 #59 of 122 50 #61 of 122
Profitability 24 #91 of 119 83 #21 of 119 49 #61 of 119
Financial Health 8 #136 of 147 73 #40 of 147 21 #116 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 41 #50 of 84 –
Overall 29 62 49
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAALRYAAYUALSPY
1 month -9.3%-3.9%-11.6% -1.0%
3 months -16.4%-7.6%-17.2% +2.9%
6 months +0.1%-7.3%+5.3% +6.4%
Year to date -21.0%-27.2%-12.4% +11.4%
1 year -5.2%-13.2%+2.4% +13.1%
3 years +8.0%+46.1%+178.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.6%+13.5%+40.8% +21.5%
5 years -36.8%+21.1%+109.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.8%+3.9%+16.0% +10.9%
10 years -69.6%+78.9%+76.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year -11.2%+6.0%+5.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAALRYAAYUALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%36.5%48.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.8%35.3%43.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.921.402.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.11-0.360.05 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-54.9%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-28.8%-28.1% -2.5%
52-week high $18.15$73.82$136.11 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$51.33$85.21 $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.

MultipleAALRYAAYUAL
P/E now vs peer median -24.6xmedian 16.0x 13.4xmedian 16.0x 8.9xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.4xmedian 8.7x 6.1xmedian 8.7x 5.5xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 11.5x 12.7xmedian 11.5x 28.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.86median 0.82 3.38median 0.82 1.07median 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 monthsAALRYAAYUAL
Revenue $58.34B $18.19B $65.55B
Operating income $1.01B $2.38B $4.92B
Net income -$326.00M $2.21B $3.58B
Free cash flow $285.00M $2.16B $1.12B
EPS (diluted) $-0.49 $3.90 $10.93
Cash & equivalents – $2.84B $6.65B
Total debt $28.93B $4.75B $26.40B
Shares (diluted) 662.61M 532.20M 327.40M
Enterprise value -$15.95B $11.62B -$24.97B

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
MetricAALRYAAYUAL
P/E -24.6x 13.4x 8.9x
P/FCF 28.1x 12.7x 28.5x
P/Operating cash flow 1.8x 6.8x 3.9x
P/S 0.1x 1.5x 0.5x
P/B -2.0x 2.5x 1.8x
P/Tangible book -1.3x 2.6x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 10.4x 6.1x 5.5x
EV/EBIT 30.0x 10.4x 8.8x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 1.4x 0.7x
EV/FCF 106.0x 11.4x 39.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.9x 6.1x 5.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.86 3.38 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYUAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 13.3% 12.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 12.8% 7.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.7% 0.5% 1.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -41.0% 6.2% 2.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -157.5% -4.6% 8.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% 6.1% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -157.3% -13.5% 8.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.8% 4.0% 8.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% -1.0% -12.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 0.1% -3.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.8% -21.9% -69.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.4% -7.4% -5.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYUAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 5.0% 22.3% 12.2%
Operating margin 1.7% 13.1% 7.5%
Pretax margin -0.6% 13.4% 6.9%
Net margin -0.6% 11.4% 5.5%
FCF margin 0.5% 11.9% 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 22.1% 12.4%
Return on equity – 18.5% 20.8%
Return on assets -0.5% 9.6% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 16.9% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 18.7% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -13.4x 1.8x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYUAL
Debt / assets 45.0% 0.2% 31.0%
Debt / equity -7.3x 0.0x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -0.7x 1.5x
Debt / FCF 101.5x 0.0x 23.7x
Liabilities / assets 106.2% 47.8% 79.1%
Equity / assets -6.2% 52.2% 20.9%
Interest coverage 0.6x – 3.6x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 0.64 3.36 1.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAALRYAAYUAL
Dividend yield – 2.6% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.6% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusAALRYAAYUAL
Forward P/E – 14.6xFY2026 12.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $3.60FY2026 $7.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -375.0%FY2026 -24.4%FY2026 -26.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -5.0% +68.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.52BFY2026 $18.49BFY2026 $66.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.1% -0.3% +12.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALRYAAYUAL
Held by institutions 78.0% 39.9% 89.6%
Institutions holding 578 410 1,066
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% -0.8% +2.4%
Institutions buying 276 192 568
Institutions selling 182 147 341
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.31 1.67

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.

AALRYAAYUAL
AAL 1.00 0.56 0.84
RYAAY 0.56 1.00 0.60
UAL 0.84 0.60 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, RYAAY and UAL?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $27.97B, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $32.72B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAL, RYAAY and UAL?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Airlines (AAL) -24.8x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 13.5x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 9.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is cheapest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.6x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 12.5x). 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) +13.3%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 11.4%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.9%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Airlines Holdings (UAL) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -13.2%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +2.4%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +3.9%/yr, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.