AAL vs UAL vs SKYW Stock Comparison

American Airlines, United Airlines Holdings and Skywest Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SKYW Skywest Inc
$77.70 -19.4% 1M -22.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.28B
P/E
7.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.26B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionAALUALSKYWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.04B $37.69B $3.28B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -18.8x 10.5x 7.9x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 15.2x 6.9x SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.3% +12.3% +7.0% AAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.8% 5.5% 9.7% SKYW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.2% 8.9% 8.9% SKYW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 8.1x 1.5x 1.9x UAL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.9% +11.5% -22.7% UAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.1%/yr +16.9%/yr +11.6%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 48.2% 40.5% SKYW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 27/100 50/100 67/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

AALUALSKYW

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

AxisAALUALSKYW
Valuation 65 #49 of 137 74 #36 of 137 87 #19 of 137
Growth 14 #110 of 127 52 #62 of 127 66 #44 of 127
Profitability 24 #95 of 125 51 #62 of 125 60 #51 of 125
Financial Health 8 #136 of 147 22 #115 of 147 27 #107 of 147
Shareholder Returns – – 97 #4 of 87
Overall 27 50 67
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UAL 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

PeriodAALUALSKYWSPY
1 month -0.9%-4.7%-19.4% -2.0%
3 months -22.6%-19.2%-32.4% -2.2%
6 months +3.6%+14.5%-6.6% +4.2%
Year to date -16.4%-4.1%-22.6% +10.6%
1 year -3.9%+11.5%-22.7% +10.4%
3 years +7.0%+185.8%+74.6% +73.6%
3 years, per year +2.3%+41.9%+20.4% +20.2%
5 years -37.9%+118.2%+72.8% +61.6%
5 years, per year -9.1%+16.9%+11.6% +10.1%
10 years -67.4%+91.7%+168.9% +261.3%
10 years, per year -10.6%+6.7%+10.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAALUALSKYWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%48.2%40.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.2%43.6%42.3% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.892.171.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.080.24-0.56 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-49.2%-70.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.4%-21.2%-33.0% -3.2%
52-week high $18.15$136.11$115.94 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$85.21$77.70 $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.

MultipleAALUALSKYW
P/E now vs peer median -17.7xmedian 15.1x 9.7xmedian 15.1x 7.4xmedian 15.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 8.2x 5.8xmedian 8.2x 5.1xmedian 8.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -93.3xmedian 12.7x 31.2xmedian 12.7x 14.8xmedian 12.7x
P/B now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 1.2x 2.0xmedian 1.2x 1.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.55median 0.68 1.18median 0.68 0.05median 0.68

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 monthsAALUALSKYW
Revenue $60.98B $65.55B $4.26B
Operating income $972.00M $4.92B $589.74M
Net income -$481.00M $3.58B $413.07M
Free cash flow -$91.00M $1.12B $199.17M
EPS (diluted) $-0.73 $10.93 $10.43
Cash & equivalents – $6.65B $71.75M
Total debt $30.57B $26.40B $2.38B
Shares (diluted) 662.71M 327.40M 39.62M
Enterprise value -$16.14B -$20.00B $775.17M

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
MetricAALUALSKYW
P/E -17.7x 9.7x 7.4x
P/FCF -93.3x 31.2x 14.8x
P/Operating cash flow 2.0x 4.3x 3.7x
P/S 0.1x 0.5x 0.7x
P/B -2.0x 2.0x 1.1x
P/Tangible book -1.4x 2.3x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 11.0x 5.8x 5.1x
EV/EBIT 32.8x 9.5x 8.1x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.7x 1.1x
EV/FCF -350.5x 41.7x 23.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.5x 5.7x 6.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.55 1.18 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALUALSKYW
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.3% 12.3% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 7.7% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -54.8% 1.9% -6.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -36.3% 2.4% 142.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -179.9% 8.6% -4.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -32.0% 7.7% 150.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -179.6% 8.4% -0.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.9% 8.3% 155.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.2% -12.9% -10.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.1% -3.1% 7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -110.3% -69.9% -45.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.7% -5.8% -18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALUALSKYW
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 4.7% 12.2% 22.1%
Operating margin 1.6% 7.5% 13.9%
Pretax margin -0.9% 6.9% 12.5%
Net margin -0.8% 5.5% 9.7%
FCF margin -0.1% 1.7% 4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 7.0% 12.4% 18.8%
Return on equity – 20.8% 14.8%
Return on assets -0.7% 4.2% 5.5%
Return on invested capital 3.2% 8.9% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 8.5% 10.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -8.9x 2.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALUALSKYW
Debt / assets 47.0% 31.0% 31.7%
Debt / equity -7.2x 1.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 8.1x 1.5x 1.9x
Debt / FCF -335.9x 23.7x 11.9x
Liabilities / assets 106.5% 79.1% 62.6%
Equity / assets -6.5% 20.9% 37.4%
Interest coverage 0.6x 3.6x 5.9x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.6x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.6x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.66 1.38 1.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAALUALSKYW
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – 8.5%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 8.5%
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.

ConsensusAALUALSKYW
Forward P/E – 15.2xFY2026 6.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.14FY2026 $7.04FY2026 $11.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -416.7%FY2026 -33.7%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +75.0% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.78BFY2026 $66.54BFY2026 $4.61BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.4%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +13.5% +4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALUALSKYW
Held by institutions 78.0% 89.6% 92.2%
Institutions holding 580 1,070 351
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% +2.4% -1.1%
Institutions buying 277 570 182
Institutions selling 182 343 140
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.66 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.

AALUALSKYW
AAL 1.00 0.84 0.67
UAL 0.84 1.00 0.69
SKYW 0.67 0.69 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, UAL and SKYW?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $9.04B, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $37.69B, Skywest (SKYW) $3.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAL, UAL and SKYW?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Airlines (AAL) -18.8x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 10.5x, Skywest (SKYW) 7.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 15.2x, Skywest (SKYW) 6.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Airlines (AAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Airlines (AAL) +12.3%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%, Skywest (SKYW) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Skywest (SKYW) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.8%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%, Skywest (SKYW) 9.7%). On return on invested capital, Skywest (SKYW) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.2%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%, Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Airlines Holdings (UAL) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -3.9%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +11.5%, Skywest (SKYW) -22.7%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -9.1%/yr, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.9%/yr, Skywest (SKYW) +11.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Skywest (SKYW) has been the steadiest (American Airlines (AAL) 47.0%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.2%, Skywest (SKYW) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAL, UAL 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, Skywest (SKYW) 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.