DAL vs ALK vs AAL Stock Comparison

Delta Air Lines, Alaska Air and American Airlines Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$76.75 -6.1% 1M +30.6% 1Y
Market cap
$51.86B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
8 wins
ALK Alaska Air Group, Inc.
$34.40 -13.3% 1M -26.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.88B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$14.76B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionDALALKAALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $51.86B $3.88B $8.09B DAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.8x -22.2x -24.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.8x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.1% +9.8% +7.5% DAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% -1.2% -0.6% DAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.8% -1.1% 3.6% DAL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 6.1x 7.6x DAL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.6% -26.2% -5.2% DAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.1%/yr -8.6%/yr -8.8%/yr DAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.6% 52.3% 47.7% DAL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 39/100 40/100 29/100 ALK

Percentile Scorecard

DALALKAAL

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

AxisDALALKAAL
Valuation 67 #45 of 136 49 #70 of 136 70 #41 of 136
Growth 48 #64 of 122 20 #98 of 122 14 #105 of 122
Profitability 48 #62 of 119 20 #95 of 119 24 #91 of 119
Financial Health 22 #115 of 147 11 #131 of 147 8 #136 of 147
Shareholder Returns 7 #78 of 84 98 #3 of 84 –
Overall 39 40 29
  • DAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ALK ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDALALKAALSPY
1 month -6.1%-13.3%-9.3% -1.0%
3 months -9.8%-25.5%-16.4% +2.9%
6 months +12.1%-17.3%+0.1% +6.4%
Year to date +10.6%-31.6%-21.0% +11.4%
1 year +30.6%-26.2%-5.2% +13.1%
3 years +139.7%+8.0%+8.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +33.9%+2.6%+2.6% +21.5%
5 years +93.1%-36.1%-36.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +14.1%-8.6%-8.8% +10.9%
10 years +86.4%-53.9%-69.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.4%-7.4%-11.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureDALALKAALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.6%52.3%47.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.2%50.6%45.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.702.241.92 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.79-0.50-0.11 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.0%-56.2%-59.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.1%-42.9%-33.3% -2.5%
52-week high $93.66$60.21$18.15 $779.14
52-week low $55.65$33.56$10.18 $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.

MultipleDALALKAAL
P/E now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 16.0x -21.8xmedian 16.0x -24.6xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.0x 0.3xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 8.7x 12.6xmedian 8.7x 10.4xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 11.5x -11.0xmedian 11.5x 28.1xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x -2.0xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -8.23median 0.82 0.45median 0.82 0.86median 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 monthsDALALKAAL
Revenue $71.80B $14.76B $58.34B
Operating income $5.29B -$224.00M $1.01B
Net income $3.29B -$175.00M -$326.00M
Free cash flow $3.02B -$350.00M $285.00M
EPS (diluted) $4.99 $-1.57 $-0.49
Cash & equivalents $3.79B $1.06B –
Total debt $13.95B $6.24B $28.93B
Shares (diluted) 659.00M 111.13M 662.61M
Enterprise value $34.04B -$3.94B -$15.95B

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
MetricDALALKAAL
P/E 15.3x -21.8x -24.6x
P/FCF 16.7x -11.0x 28.1x
P/Operating cash flow 6.3x 3.8x 1.8x
P/S 0.7x 0.3x 0.1x
P/B 2.2x 1.0x -2.0x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 1.3x -1.3x
EV/EBITDA 7.7x 12.6x 10.4x
EV/EBIT 11.5x -33.1x 30.0x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.5x 0.5x
EV/FCF 20.1x -21.2x 106.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 7.3x 6.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -8.23 0.45 0.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDALALKAAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.1% 9.8% 7.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 12.6% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -12.9% -145.3% -51.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.3% -43.4% -41.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.9% -155.9% -157.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.1% -45.7% -28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -29.5% -160.8% -157.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.9% -48.4% -28.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.3% -28.5% 6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 0.2% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -1.7% 9.8% -81.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 36.6% 19.0% -47.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDALALKAAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 11.0% 4.0% 5.0%
Operating margin 7.4% -1.5% 1.7%
Pretax margin 6.1% -2.6% -0.6%
Net margin 4.6% -1.2% -0.6%
FCF margin 4.2% -2.4% 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 11.1% 6.9% 7.5%
Return on equity 14.8% -4.7% –
Return on assets 3.8% -0.8% -0.5%
Return on invested capital 10.8% -1.1% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 10.0% -1.6% 2.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x -5.8x -13.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDALALKAAL
Debt / assets 16.2% 29.3% 45.0%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.7x -7.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 6.1x 7.6x
Debt / FCF 4.6x -17.8x 101.5x
Liabilities / assets 73.8% 82.7% 106.2%
Equity / assets 26.2% 17.3% -6.2%
Interest coverage – -0.7x 0.6x
Current ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.48 0.92 0.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDALALKAAL
Dividend yield 1.0% – –
Net buyback yield – 7.4% –
Shareholder yield 1.0% 7.4% 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.

ConsensusDALALKAAL
Forward P/E 13.8xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $5.57FY2026 $-3.57FY2026 $-0.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -4.3%FY2026 -246.3%FY2026 -375.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.0% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $70.62BFY2026 $15.35BFY2026 $59.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.2%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.3% +8.7% +7.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDALALKAAL
Held by institutions 88.2% 92.1% 78.0%
Institutions holding 1,511 490 578
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +0.0% +16.5%
Institutions buying 815 265 276
Institutions selling 483 146 182
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.82 1.52

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.

DALALKAAL
DAL 1.00 0.81 0.85
ALK 0.81 1.00 0.78
AAL 0.85 0.78 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DAL, ALK and AAL?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Delta Air Lines (DAL) $51.86B, Alaska Air (ALK) $3.88B, American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B.

Which company is growing faster?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%, Alaska Air (ALK) +9.8%, American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) has the highest net margin (Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.2%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%). On return on invested capital, Delta Air Lines (DAL) leads (Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.1%, American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Delta Air Lines (DAL) returned the most: Delta Air Lines (DAL) +30.6%, Alaska Air (ALK) -26.2%, American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%. Over five years, Delta Air Lines (DAL) compounded fastest (Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%/yr, Alaska Air (ALK) -8.6%/yr, American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Delta Air Lines (DAL) has been the steadiest (Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.6%, Alaska Air (ALK) 52.3%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 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.