AAL vs UAL vs ALK Stock Comparison

American Airlines, United Airlines Holdings and Alaska Air Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

United Airlines Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (United Airlines Holdings 8, American Airlines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAALUALALKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.09B $32.72B $3.88B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -24.8x 9.1x -22.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 12.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +12.3% +9.8% UAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% 5.5% -1.2% UAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 8.9% -1.1% UAL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 1.5x 6.1x UAL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.2% +2.4% -26.2% UAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.8%/yr +16.0%/yr -8.6%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 48.1% 52.3% AAL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 49/100 40/100 UAL

Percentile Scorecard

AALUALALK

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

AxisAALUALALK
Valuation 70 #41 of 136 74 #36 of 136 49 #70 of 136
Growth 14 #105 of 122 50 #61 of 122 20 #98 of 122
Profitability 24 #91 of 119 49 #61 of 119 20 #95 of 119
Financial Health 8 #136 of 147 21 #116 of 147 11 #131 of 147
Shareholder Returns – – 98 #3 of 84
Overall 29 49 40
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ALK ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAALUALALKSPY
1 month -9.3%-11.6%-13.3% -1.0%
3 months -16.4%-17.2%-25.5% +2.9%
6 months +0.1%+5.3%-17.3% +6.4%
Year to date -21.0%-12.4%-31.6% +11.4%
1 year -5.2%+2.4%-26.2% +13.1%
3 years +8.0%+178.7%+8.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.6%+40.8%+2.6% +21.5%
5 years -36.8%+109.6%-36.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.8%+16.0%-8.6% +10.9%
10 years -69.6%+76.1%-53.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -11.2%+5.8%-7.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAALUALALKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%48.1%52.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.8%43.9%50.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.922.212.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.110.05-0.50 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-49.2%-56.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-28.1%-42.9% -2.5%
52-week high $18.15$136.11$60.21 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$85.21$33.56 $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.

MultipleAALUALALK
P/E now vs peer median -24.6xmedian 16.0x 8.9xmedian 16.0x -21.8xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x 0.3xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.4xmedian 8.7x 5.5xmedian 8.7x 12.6xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 11.5x 28.5xmedian 11.5x -11.0xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.86median 0.82 1.07median 0.82 0.45median 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 monthsAALUALALK
Revenue $58.34B $65.55B $14.76B
Operating income $1.01B $4.92B -$224.00M
Net income -$326.00M $3.58B -$175.00M
Free cash flow $285.00M $1.12B -$350.00M
EPS (diluted) $-0.49 $10.93 $-1.57
Cash & equivalents – $6.65B $1.06B
Total debt $28.93B $26.40B $6.24B
Shares (diluted) 662.61M 327.40M 111.13M
Enterprise value -$15.95B -$24.97B -$3.94B

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
MetricAALUALALK
P/E -24.6x 8.9x -21.8x
P/FCF 28.1x 28.5x -11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 1.8x 3.9x 3.8x
P/S 0.1x 0.5x 0.3x
P/B -2.0x 1.8x 1.0x
P/Tangible book -1.3x 2.1x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 10.4x 5.5x 12.6x
EV/EBIT 30.0x 8.8x -33.1x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.7x 0.5x
EV/FCF 106.0x 39.0x -21.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.9x 5.3x 7.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.86 1.07 0.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALUALALK
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 12.3% 9.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 7.7% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.7% 1.9% -145.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -41.0% 2.4% -43.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -157.5% 8.6% -155.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% 7.7% -45.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -157.3% 8.4% -160.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.8% 8.3% -48.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% -12.9% -28.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% -3.1% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.8% -69.9% 9.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.4% -5.8% 19.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALUALALK
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 5.0% 12.2% 4.0%
Operating margin 1.7% 7.5% -1.5%
Pretax margin -0.6% 6.9% -2.6%
Net margin -0.6% 5.5% -1.2%
FCF margin 0.5% 1.7% -2.4%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 12.4% 6.9%
Return on equity – 20.8% -4.7%
Return on assets -0.5% 4.2% -0.8%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 8.9% -1.1%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 8.5% -1.6%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -13.4x 2.3x -5.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALUALALK
Debt / assets 45.0% 31.0% 29.3%
Debt / equity -7.3x 1.5x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 1.5x 6.1x
Debt / FCF 101.5x 23.7x -17.8x
Liabilities / assets 106.2% 79.1% 82.7%
Equity / assets -6.2% 20.9% 17.3%
Interest coverage 0.6x 3.6x -0.7x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 0.64 1.36 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAALUALALK
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – 7.4%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 7.4%
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.

ConsensusAALUALALK
Forward P/E – 12.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $7.85FY2026 $-3.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -375.0%FY2026 -26.1%FY2026 -246.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +68.2% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.52BFY2026 $66.26BFY2026 $15.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.1% +12.3% +8.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALUALALK
Held by institutions 78.0% 89.6% 92.1%
Institutions holding 578 1,066 490
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% +2.4% +0.0%
Institutions buying 276 568 265
Institutions selling 182 341 146
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.67 1.82

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.

AALUALALK
AAL 1.00 0.84 0.78
UAL 0.84 1.00 0.82
ALK 0.78 0.82 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, UAL and ALK?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $32.72B, Alaska Air (ALK) $3.88B.

Which company is growing faster?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%, Alaska Air (ALK) +9.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.2%). On return on invested capital, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Airlines Holdings (UAL) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +2.4%, Alaska Air (ALK) -26.2%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.0%/yr, Alaska Air (ALK) -8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Airlines (AAL) has been the steadiest (American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.1%, Alaska Air (ALK) 52.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) leads on 8. 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.