ALK vs RYAAY vs DAL Stock Comparison

Alaska Air, Ryanair Holdings and Delta Air Lines Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$53.00 -4.2% 1M -13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$28.06B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.19B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
7 wins
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$79.19 -6.8% 1M +29.9% 1Y
Market cap
$52.81B
P/E
16.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 7, Delta Air Lines 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALKRYAAYDALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.97B $28.06B $52.81B DAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -10.0x 13.5x 16.1x RYAAY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 14.8x 15.4x RYAAY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +13.3% +14.1% DAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 11.4% 4.6% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 16.9% 10.8% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.7x 1.3x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.1% -13.9% +29.9% DAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.9%/yr +4.1%/yr +15.2%/yr DAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.1% 36.5% 38.6% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 34/100 62/100 38/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

ALKRYAAYDAL

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

AxisALKRYAAYDAL
Valuation 73 #37 of 136 58 #58 of 136 65 #48 of 136
Growth 9 #111 of 122 52 #59 of 122 47 #65 of 122
Profitability 21 #92 of 116 82 #22 of 116 46 #63 of 116
Financial Health – 73 #39 of 144 22 #112 of 144
Shareholder Returns – 43 #47 of 82 7 #76 of 82
Overall 34 62 38
  • ALK ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • DAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodALKRYAAYDALSPY
1 month -14.6%-4.2%-6.8% -0.8%
3 months -26.4%-7.8%-8.6% +3.5%
6 months -13.6%-4.6%+16.1% +7.0%
Year to date -30.5%-26.6%+14.1% +12.2%
1 year -20.1%-13.9%+29.9% +13.0%
3 years +11.9%+48.5%+158.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.8%+14.1%+37.2% +23.1%
5 years -33.7%+22.0%+102.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -7.9%+4.1%+15.2% +11.0%
10 years -50.9%+76.5%+91.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year -6.9%+5.8%+6.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureALKRYAAYDALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.1%36.5%38.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 50.0%35.3%34.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.281.411.72 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.39-0.380.78 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.2%-54.9%-48.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.9%-28.2%-15.4% -1.8%
52-week high $60.21$73.82$93.66 $779.14
52-week low $33.56$51.33$55.65 $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.

MultipleALKRYAAYDAL
P/E now vs peer median -9.8xmedian 16.1x 13.5xmedian 16.1x 15.8xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.7x 6.1xmedian 8.7x 7.9xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.7xmedian 11.5x 12.8xmedian 11.5x 17.2xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.2x 2.6xmedian 1.2x 2.3xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.18median 0.81 3.41median 0.81 -8.49median 0.81

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 monthsALKRYAAYDAL
Revenue $15.31B $18.19B $71.80B
Operating income -$290.00M $2.38B $5.29B
Net income -$395.00M $2.21B $3.29B
Free cash flow – $2.16B $3.02B
EPS (diluted) $-3.55 $3.90 $4.99
Cash & equivalents $835.00M $2.84B $3.79B
Total debt – $4.75B $13.95B
Shares (diluted) 111.13M 532.20M 659.00M
Enterprise value $3.97B $11.71B $34.99B

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
MetricALKRYAAYDAL
P/E -9.8x 13.5x 15.8x
P/FCF -12.7x 12.8x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 4.1x 6.9x 6.5x
P/S 0.3x 1.5x 0.7x
P/B 1.1x 2.6x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 2.6x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA – 6.1x 7.9x
EV/EBIT – 10.5x 11.8x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 1.4x 0.9x
EV/FCF – 11.5x 20.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.1x 6.2x 7.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.18 3.41 -8.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALKRYAAYDAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 13.3% 14.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 12.8% 7.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -196.3% 0.5% -12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -40.2% 6.2% -2.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -363.3% -4.6% -28.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -52.2% 6.1% -1.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -378.4% -13.5% -29.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -55.7% 4.0% -1.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -29.7% -1.0% 0.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 0.1% 4.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -21.9% -1.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -7.4% 36.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALKRYAAYDAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 22.3% 11.0%
Operating margin – 13.1% 7.4%
Pretax margin – 13.4% 6.1%
Net margin – 11.4% 4.6%
FCF margin – 11.9% 4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 6.1% 22.1% 11.1%
Return on equity -11.0% 18.5% 14.8%
Return on assets -1.9% 9.6% 3.8%
Return on invested capital – 16.9% 10.8%
Return on capital employed – 18.7% 10.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.4x 1.8x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALKRYAAYDAL
Debt / assets – 0.2% 16.2%
Debt / equity – 0.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.7x 1.3x
Debt / FCF – 0.0x 4.6x
Liabilities / assets – 47.8% 73.8%
Equity / assets 16.8% 52.2% 26.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.4x
Quick ratio – 0.3x 0.2x
Cash ratio – 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 3.37 1.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALKRYAAYDAL
Dividend yield – 2.5% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.5% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusALKRYAAYDAL
Forward P/E – 14.8xFY2026 15.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-4.68FY2026 $3.58FY2026 $5.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -291.8%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026 -11.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -6.1% +40.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.35BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026 $71.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.8%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% 0.0% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALKRYAAYDAL
Held by institutions 92.1% 39.9% 88.2%
Institutions holding 490 410 1,511
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.0% -0.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 265 192 815
Institutions selling 146 147 483
Buyers to sellers 1.82 1.31 1.69

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.

ALKRYAAYDAL
ALK 1.00 0.63 0.81
RYAAY 0.63 1.00 0.59
DAL 0.81 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALK, RYAAY and DAL?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alaska Air (ALK) $3.97B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $28.06B, Delta Air Lines (DAL) $52.81B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALK, RYAAY and DAL?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alaska Air (ALK) -10.0x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 13.5x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 16.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is cheapest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 15.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alaska Air (ALK) +8.2%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +13.3%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 11.4%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.9%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Delta Air Lines (DAL) returned the most: Alaska Air (ALK) -20.1%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -13.9%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +29.9%. Over five years, Delta Air Lines (DAL) compounded fastest (Alaska Air (ALK) -7.9%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +4.1%/yr, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +15.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Alaska Air (ALK) 52.1%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALK, RYAAY and DAL?

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 7. 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.