CPA vs LUV vs UAL Stock Comparison

Copa Holdings, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines Holdings Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CPA Copa Holdings, S.A.
$131.39 +1.1% 1M +4.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.36B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.99B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
7 wins
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$41.74 +1.7% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.96B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Copa Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Copa Holdings 7, United Airlines Holdings 2, Southwest Airlines 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCPALUVUALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.36B $20.96B $32.72B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.6x 19.9x 9.1x CPA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.2x 15.7x 12.5x CPA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.8% +14.5% +12.3% CPA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.7% 3.3% 5.5% CPA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.3% 8.2% 8.9% CPA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 0.8x 1.5x LUV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.8% +31.9% +2.4% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.7%/yr -2.6%/yr +16.0%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.7% 43.4% 48.1% CPA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 59/100 49/100 CPA

Percentile Scorecard

CPALUVUAL

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

AxisCPALUVUAL
Valuation 61 #54 of 136 54 #63 of 136 74 #36 of 136
Growth 64 #45 of 122 88 #15 of 122 50 #61 of 122
Profitability 82 #22 of 119 43 #68 of 119 49 #61 of 119
Financial Health 49 #76 of 147 32 #100 of 147 21 #116 of 147
Shareholder Returns 66 #29 of 84 77 #20 of 84 –
Overall 64 59 49
  • CPA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCPALUVUALSPY
1 month +1.1%+1.7%-11.6% -1.0%
3 months -3.8%-7.4%-17.2% +2.9%
6 months +11.4%+5.8%+5.3% +6.4%
Year to date +8.9%+1.0%-12.4% +11.4%
1 year +4.8%+31.9%+2.4% +13.1%
3 years +60.3%+74.6%+178.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +17.0%+20.4%+40.8% +21.5%
5 years +66.5%-12.4%+109.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.7%-2.6%+16.0% +10.9%
10 years +39.8%-1.6%+76.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +3.4%-0.2%+5.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCPALUVUALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.7%43.4%48.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.3%38.3%43.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.811.592.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.110.730.05 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.5%-57.4%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.4%-23.8%-28.1% -2.5%
52-week high $157.19$54.80$136.11 $779.14
52-week low $107.81$29.67$85.21 $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.

MultipleCPALUVUAL
P/E now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 16.0x 19.4xmedian 16.0x 8.9xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.0x 0.6xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 8.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x 5.5xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 11.5x -45.5xmedian 11.5x 28.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.2x 2.8xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.46median 0.82 0.48median 0.82 1.07median 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 monthsCPALUVUAL
Revenue $3.99B $31.55B $65.55B
Operating income $772.19M $1.39B $4.92B
Net income $626.62M $1.05B $3.58B
Free cash flow – -$449.00M $1.12B
EPS (diluted) $15.19 $2.13 $10.93
Cash & equivalents $266.83M $3.62B $6.65B
Total debt $7.93B $5.89B $26.40B
Shares (diluted) 41.26M 494.00M 327.40M
Enterprise value $436.96M $6.98B -$24.97B

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
MetricCPALUVUAL
P/E 8.7x 19.4x 8.9x
P/FCF – -45.5x 28.5x
P/Operating cash flow – 7.4x 3.9x
P/S 1.4x 0.6x 0.5x
P/B 1.9x 2.8x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.8x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 5.5x 7.7x 5.5x
EV/EBIT 8.3x 16.4x 8.8x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 0.7x 0.7x
EV/FCF – -50.6x 39.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – 8.2x 5.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.46 0.48 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCPALUVUAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.8% 14.5% 12.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 7.4% 7.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.3% 339.7% 1.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 78.6% 2.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.7% 177.8% 8.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 22.2% 28.4% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.5% 195.8% 8.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 40.0% 8.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 36.2% -12.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -6.0% -3.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -35.2% -69.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 20.2% -5.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCPALUVUAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 29.4% 9.4% 12.2%
Operating margin 19.4% 4.4% 7.5%
Pretax margin 18.0% 4.3% 6.9%
Net margin 15.7% 3.3% 5.5%
FCF margin – -1.4% 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 8.7% 12.4%
Return on equity 21.8% 14.6% 20.8%
Return on assets 8.9% 3.5% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 15.3% 8.2% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 14.4% 8.3% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.6x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCPALUVUAL
Debt / assets 31.8% 19.3% 31.0%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.8x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 0.8x 1.5x
Debt / FCF – -13.1x 23.7x
Liabilities / assets 59.7% 76.0% 79.1%
Equity / assets 40.3% 24.0% 20.9%
Interest coverage 7.3x 5.9x 3.6x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.5x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.3x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 2.22 2.20 1.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCPALUVUAL
Dividend yield 5.1% 1.7% –
Net buyback yield – 6.1% –
Shareholder yield 5.1% 7.8% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusCPALUVUAL
Forward P/E 9.2xFY2026 15.7xFY2026 12.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.27FY2026 $2.66FY2026 $7.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.3%FY2026 +186.0%FY2026 -26.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +40.6% +62.4% +68.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.71BFY2026 $31.07BFY2026 $66.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.0%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.4% +15.6% +12.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCPALUVUAL
Held by institutions 62.4% 92.9% 89.6%
Institutions holding 321 930 1,066
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% +4.4% +2.4%
Institutions buying 187 476 568
Institutions selling 98 280 341
Buyers to sellers 1.91 1.70 1.67

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.

CPALUVUAL
CPA 1.00 0.56 0.64
LUV 0.56 1.00 0.72
UAL 0.64 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CPA, LUV and UAL?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Copa Holdings (CPA) $5.36B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $32.72B.

Which stock is cheaper, CPA, LUV and UAL?

Copa Holdings (CPA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Copa Holdings (CPA) 8.6x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 9.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copa Holdings (CPA) is cheapest (Copa Holdings (CPA) 9.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 12.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Copa Holdings (CPA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Copa Holdings (CPA) +14.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Copa Holdings (CPA) has the highest net margin (Copa Holdings (CPA) 15.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%). On return on invested capital, Copa Holdings (CPA) leads (Copa Holdings (CPA) 15.3%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Copa Holdings (CPA) +4.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +2.4%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (Copa Holdings (CPA) +10.7%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Copa Holdings (CPA) has been the steadiest (Copa Holdings (CPA) 42.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CPA, LUV and UAL?

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