BKNG vs DAL vs LUV Stock Comparison

Booking Holdings, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BKNG Booking Holdings Inc.
$147.94 -9.7% 1M -27.8% 1Y
Market cap
$115.52B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.24B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
8 wins
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$80.36 -4.4% 1M +38.9% 1Y
Market cap
$53.39B
P/E
16.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
1 win
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$43.49 +2.9% 1M +39.9% 1Y
Market cap
$21.25B
P/E
20.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Booking Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Booking Holdings 8, Southwest Airlines 2, Delta Air Lines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBKNGDALLUVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $115.52B $53.39B $21.25B BKNG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.0x 16.2x 20.2x BKNG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.6x 15.6x 16.7x BKNG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.9% +14.1% +14.5% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.5% 4.6% 3.3% BKNG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 75.5% 10.8% 8.2% BKNG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.3x 0.8x BKNG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -27.8% +38.9% +39.9% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.9%/yr +15.5%/yr -1.7%/yr DAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.9% 38.4% 43.3% BKNG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 38/100 58/100 BKNG

Percentile Scorecard

BKNGDALLUV

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

AxisBKNGDALLUV
Valuation 65 #59 of 166 65 #48 of 136 49 #70 of 136
Growth 38 #95 of 152 46 #67 of 122 88 #16 of 122
Profitability 100 #1 of 152 50 #59 of 116 44 #65 of 116
Financial Health 40 #107 of 179 23 #111 of 143 32 #97 of 143
Shareholder Returns 57 #41 of 94 9 #74 of 81 78 #19 of 81
Overall 60 38 58
  • BKNG ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • DAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBKNGDALLUVSPY
1 month -9.7%-4.4%+2.9% +0.9%
3 months -26.5%-6.9%-2.0% +5.9%
6 months -15.0%+21.3%+16.8% +8.5%
Year to date -30.9%+15.8%+5.2% +13.3%
1 year -27.8%+38.9%+39.9% +12.4%
3 years +34.7%+162.2%+94.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +10.4%+37.9%+24.9% +23.5%
5 years +52.8%+105.4%-8.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +8.9%+15.5%-1.7% +11.0%
10 years +150.8%+94.4%+11.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.6%+6.9%+1.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureBKNGDALLUVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.9%38.4%43.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%33.8%38.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.841.731.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.731.010.92 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.5%-48.0%-57.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.7%-14.2%-20.6% -0.9%
52-week high $219.68$93.66$54.80 $779.14
52-week low $147.94$55.65$29.67 $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.

MultipleBKNGDALLUV
P/E now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 16.8x 16.0xmedian 16.1x 20.2xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 1.4x 0.7xmedian 0.9x 0.7xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 13.9x 8.0xmedian 8.6x 8.0xmedian 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 11.4x 17.5xmedian 11.6x -47.4xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median -10.3xmedian 1.8x 2.3xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.27median 0.36 -8.62median 0.80 0.50median 0.80

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 monthsBKNGDALLUV
Revenue $28.24B $71.80B $31.55B
Operating income $9.28B $5.29B $1.39B
Net income $7.21B $3.29B $1.05B
Free cash flow $9.54B $3.02B -$449.00M
EPS (diluted) $9.36 $4.99 $2.13
Cash & equivalents $17.21B $3.79B $3.62B
Total debt $20.18B $13.95B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 770.00M 659.00M 494.00M
Enterprise value $48.57B $35.57B $7.28B

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
MetricBKNGDALLUV
P/E 15.8x 16.0x 20.2x
P/FCF 11.7x 17.5x -47.4x
P/Operating cash flow 11.3x 6.6x 7.7x
P/S 3.9x 0.7x 0.7x
P/B -10.3x 2.3x 2.9x
P/Tangible book -9.6x 3.2x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x 8.0x 8.0x
EV/EBIT 12.3x 11.9x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 4.0x 0.9x 0.7x
EV/FCF 12.0x 20.9x -52.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.6x 7.9x 8.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.27 -8.62 0.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBKNGDALLUV
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.9% 14.1% 14.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 7.8% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% -12.9% 339.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.3% -2.3% 78.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 49.8% -28.9% 177.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.4% -1.1% 28.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -93.7% -29.5% 195.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -57.3% -1.9% 40.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 0.3% 36.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 4.0% -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.2% -1.7% -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 36.6% 20.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBKNGDALLUV
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 34.9% 11.0% 9.4%
Operating margin 32.9% 7.4% 4.4%
Pretax margin 32.9% 6.1% 4.3%
Net margin 25.5% 4.6% 3.3%
FCF margin 33.8% 4.2% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 34.9% 11.1% 8.7%
Return on equity – 14.8% 14.6%
Return on assets 25.1% 3.8% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 75.5% 10.8% 8.2%
Return on capital employed 121.7% 10.0% 8.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.4x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBKNGDALLUV
Debt / assets 68.0% 16.2% 19.3%
Debt / equity -1.9x 0.6x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.3x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 4.6x -13.1x
Liabilities / assets 136.3% 73.8% 76.0%
Equity / assets -36.3% 26.2% 24.0%
Interest coverage 8.4x – 5.9x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.4x 0.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.2x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.74 1.50 2.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBKNGDALLUV
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.0% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 9.5% – 5.8%
Shareholder yield 10.3% 1.0% 7.5%
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.

ConsensusBKNGDALLUV
Forward P/E 13.6xFY2026 15.6xFY2026 16.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $5.14FY2026 $2.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 -11.7%FY2026 +179.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +40.7% +58.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.56BFY2026 $71.03BFY2026 $31.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% -4.2% +16.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBKNGDALLUV
Held by institutions 92.9% 88.2% 92.9%
Institutions holding 1,916 1,512 930
Change in shares held, QoQ -9.6% +0.6% +4.4%
Institutions buying 892 816 476
Institutions selling 828 483 280
Buyers to sellers 1.08 1.69 1.70

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.

BKNGDALLUV
BKNG 1.00 0.36 0.33
DAL 0.36 1.00 0.75
LUV 0.33 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BKNG, DAL and LUV?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Booking Holdings (BKNG) $115.52B, Delta Air Lines (DAL) $53.39B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $21.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, BKNG, DAL and LUV?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 16.0x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 16.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Booking Holdings (BKNG) is cheapest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 13.6x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 15.6x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 16.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Booking Holdings (BKNG) +12.9%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) has the highest net margin (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 25.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Booking Holdings (BKNG) leads (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 75.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Booking Holdings (BKNG) -27.8%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +38.9%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +39.9%. Over five years, Delta Air Lines (DAL) compounded fastest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) +8.9%/yr, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +15.5%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -1.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Booking Holdings (BKNG) has been the steadiest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 37.9%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.4%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BKNG, DAL and LUV?

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