AAL vs VLRS vs RYAAY Stock Comparison

American Airlines, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V and Ryanair Holdings 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
$30.77B
P/E
16.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.33B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 6, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAALVLRSRYAAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.79B $833.18M $30.77B RYAAY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -27.0x -3.8x 16.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 15.3x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +22.0% +8.5% VLRS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% -13.8% 10.2% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 5.5% 14.8% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -2.9x -0.6x VLRS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.4% +3.5% -11.5% VLRS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.7%/yr -17.1%/yr +2.7%/yr RYAAY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 51.9% 36.5% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 37/100 57/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

AALVLRSRYAAY

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

AxisAALVLRSRYAAY
Valuation 68 #44 of 137 60 #56 of 137 59 #57 of 137
Growth 12 #109 of 124 28 #90 of 124 26 #92 of 124
Profitability 24 #93 of 122 26 #90 of 122 79 #27 of 122
Financial Health 6 #138 of 147 33 #99 of 147 80 #31 of 147
Shareholder Returns – – 41 #51 of 85
Overall 28 37 57
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • VLRS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAALVLRSRYAAYSPY
1 month +1.1%+5.7%+0.4% -2.3%
3 months -18.5%-15.2%-7.8% -0.7%
6 months +10.8%-5.2%+3.9% +4.8%
Year to date -14.7%-22.7%-23.4% +10.3%
1 year -0.4%+3.5%-11.5% +10.3%
3 years +9.2%+6.4%+46.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +3.0%+2.1%+13.6% +20.1%
5 years -36.6%-60.7%+14.1% +61.9%
5 years, per year -8.7%-17.1%+2.7% +10.1%
10 years -67.1%-62.1%+82.9% +258.6%
10 years, per year -10.5%-9.2%+6.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAALVLRSRYAAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%51.9%36.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.3%47.5%35.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.891.901.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.010.07-0.32 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.3%-82.8%-54.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.9%-35.5%-25.1% -3.5%
52-week high $18.15$10.63$73.82 $779.14
52-week low $10.18$5.58$51.33 $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.

MultipleAALVLRSRYAAY
P/E now vs peer median -26.6xmedian 16.1x -3.6xmedian 16.1x 15.7xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.9x 0.6xmedian 0.9x 1.6xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 8.1x 1.4xmedian 8.1x 6.7xmedian 8.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 11.4x 1.0xmedian 11.4x 21.9xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median -2.2xmedian 1.2x 23.1xmedian 1.2x 2.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.92median 0.75 0.17median 0.75 -2.05median 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 monthsAALVLRSRYAAY
Revenue $58.34B $1.59B $18.33B
Operating income $1.01B $14.00M $2.19B
Net income -$326.00M -$336.00M $2.05B
Free cash flow $285.00M $1.01B $1.31B
EPS (diluted) $-0.49 $-1.91 $3.50
Cash & equivalents – $803.00M $2.86B
Total debt $28.93B $165.00M $497.18M
Shares (diluted) 662.61M 114.92M 532.20M
Enterprise value -$15.25B -$2.35B $15.03B

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
MetricAALVLRSRYAAY
P/E -26.6x -3.6x 15.7x
P/FCF 30.4x 1.0x 21.9x
P/Operating cash flow 2.0x 1.0x 7.9x
P/S 0.1x 0.6x 1.6x
P/B -2.2x 23.1x 2.2x
P/Tangible book -1.4x -971.2x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 1.4x 6.7x
EV/EBIT 30.6x 22.4x 12.1x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.2x 1.4x
EV/FCF 108.2x 0.3x 20.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.1x 0.3x 7.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.92 0.17 -2.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAALVLRSRYAAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 22.0% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% -1.7% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.7% -90.8% -22.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -41.0% -51.0% -3.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -157.5% -104.9% -25.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% -65.6% -5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -157.3% -260.0% -35.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.8% -21.0% -7.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.8% 25.2% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 14.1% -3.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.8% 25.2% -58.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 14.1% -23.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAALVLRSRYAAY
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 5.0% 14.1% 21.5%
Operating margin 1.7% 0.9% 12.0%
Pretax margin -0.6% -17.5% 12.3%
Net margin -0.6% -13.8% 10.2%
FCF margin 0.5% 63.5% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 63.5% 19.9%
Return on equity – -610.9% 15.5%
Return on assets -0.5% -5.8% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 5.5% 14.8%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 0.4% 15.2%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.3x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -13.4x -3.0x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAALVLRSRYAAY
Debt / assets 45.0% 2.8% 2.4%
Debt / equity -7.3x 3.9x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -2.9x -0.6x
Debt / FCF 101.5x 0.2x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 106.2% 99.3% 37.6%
Equity / assets -6.2% 0.7% 62.4%
Interest coverage 0.6x 0.0x –
Current ratio 0.5x 0.7x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 0.65 0.14 4.09

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusAALVLRSRYAAY
Forward P/E – – 15.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.14FY2026 $-1.93FY2026 $3.58FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -416.7%FY2026 – -24.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – -6.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.78BFY2026 $3.52BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.4%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +6.2% 0.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAALVLRSRYAAY
Held by institutions 78.0% 28.4% 39.9%
Institutions holding 580 75 412
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.5% -2.2% -0.8%
Institutions buying 277 32 192
Institutions selling 182 24 149
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.33 1.29

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.

AALVLRSRYAAY
AAL 1.00 0.55 0.57
VLRS 0.55 1.00 0.53
RYAAY 0.57 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAL, VLRS and RYAAY?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Airlines (AAL) $8.79B, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) $833.18M, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $30.77B.

Which company is growing faster?

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) +22.0%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) -13.8%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 10.2%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) 5.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) returned the most: American Airlines (AAL) -0.4%, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) +3.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -11.5%. Over five years, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) compounded fastest (American Airlines (AAL) -8.7%/yr, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) -17.1%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +2.7%/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) 47.0%, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V (VLRS) 51.9%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.