LUV vs AAL vs AZUL Stock Comparison

Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Azul Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
10 wins
AZUL Azul Sa
$6.01 -5.2% 1M
Market cap
$3.17B
P/E
211.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Southwest Airlines leads on 10 of the 12 questions below (Southwest Airlines 10, Azul 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLUVAALAZULLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $20.96B $8.09B $3.17B LUV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x -24.8x 211.8x LUV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.7x — 7.8x AZUL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.5% +7.5% — LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.3% -0.6% — LUV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.2% 3.6% — LUV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 7.6x — LUV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.9% -5.2% — LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr -8.8%/yr — LUV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.4% 47.7% 560.7% LUV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 29/100 — LUV

Percentile Scorecard

LUVAALAZUL

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

AxisLUVAALAZUL
Valuation 54 #63 of 136 70 #41 of 136 13 #118 of 136
Growth 88 #15 of 122 14 #105 of 122 –
Profitability 43 #68 of 119 24 #91 of 119 –
Financial Health 32 #100 of 147 8 #136 of 147 1 #146 of 147
Shareholder Returns 77 #20 of 84 – –
Overall 59 29 –
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AZUL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLUVAALAZULSPY
1 month +1.7%-9.3%-5.2% -1.0%
3 months -7.4%-16.4%-28.0% +2.9%
6 months +5.8%+0.1%+54.1% +6.4%
Year to date +1.0%-21.0%— +11.4%
1 year +31.9%-5.2%— +13.1%
3 years +74.6%+8.0%— +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.4%+2.6%— +21.5%
5 years -12.4%-36.8%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -2.6%-8.8%— +10.9%
10 years -1.6%-69.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year -0.2%-11.2%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLUVAALAZULSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.4%47.7%560.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.3%45.8%726.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.591.922.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.73-0.11— 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.4%-59.3%-99.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.8%-33.3%-98.8% -2.5%
52-week high $54.80$18.15$495.00 $779.14
52-week low $29.67$10.18$3.90 $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.

MultipleLUVAALAZUL
P/E now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 16.0x -24.6xmedian 16.0x 211.8xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x 4.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 8.7x 10.4xmedian 8.7x —median 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -45.5xmedian 11.5x 28.1xmedian 11.5x -70.9xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.2x -2.0xmedian 1.2x —median 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.48median 0.82 0.86median 0.82 —median 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 monthsLUVAALAZUL
Revenue $31.55B $58.34B –
Operating income $1.39B $1.01B –
Net income $1.05B -$326.00M –
Free cash flow -$449.00M $285.00M –
EPS (diluted) $2.13 $-0.49 –
Cash & equivalents $3.62B – $181.08M
Total debt $5.89B $28.93B $4.21B
Shares (diluted) 494.00M 662.61M 17.41B
Enterprise value $6.98B -$15.95B $2.27B

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
MetricLUVAALAZUL
P/E 19.4x -24.6x 211.8x
P/FCF -45.5x 28.1x -70.9x
P/Operating cash flow 7.4x 1.8x –
P/S 0.6x 0.1x 4.7x
P/B 2.8x -2.0x –
P/Tangible book 2.8x -1.3x –
EV/EBITDA 7.7x 10.4x –
EV/EBIT 16.4x 30.0x –
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.5x –
EV/FCF -50.6x 106.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 8.2x 6.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.48 0.86 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLUVAALAZUL
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.5% 7.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 3.3% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 339.7% -51.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 78.6% -41.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% -157.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.4% -28.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) 195.8% -157.3% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.0% -28.8% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 36.2% 6.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.0% 0.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.2% -81.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.2% -47.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLUVAALAZUL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 9.4% 5.0% –
Operating margin 4.4% 1.7% –
Pretax margin 4.3% -0.6% –
Net margin 3.3% -0.6% –
FCF margin -1.4% 0.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 8.7% 7.5% –
Return on equity 14.6% – –
Return on assets 3.5% -0.5% –
Return on invested capital 8.2% 3.6% –
Return on capital employed 8.3% 2.7% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.9x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x -13.4x –
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLUVAALAZUL
Debt / assets 19.3% 45.0% 97.6%
Debt / equity 0.8x -7.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 7.6x –
Debt / FCF -13.1x 101.5x –
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 106.2% 165.7%
Equity / assets 24.0% -6.2% –
Interest coverage 5.9x 0.6x –
Current ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.2x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.20 0.64 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLUVAALAZUL
Dividend yield 1.7% – –
Net buyback yield 6.1% – –
Shareholder yield 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.

ConsensusLUVAALAZUL
Forward P/E 15.7xFY2026 – 7.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.66FY2026 $-0.99FY2026 $0.77FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +186.0%FY2026 -375.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +62.4% – +113.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.07BFY2026 $59.52BFY2026 $3.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026 -13.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.6% +7.1% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLUVAALAZUL
Held by institutions 92.9% 78.0% 2.9%
Institutions holding 930 578 42
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% +16.5% –
Institutions buying 476 276 42
Institutions selling 280 182 0
Buyers to sellers 1.70 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.

LUVAALAZUL
LUV 1.00 0.75 0.01
AAL 0.75 1.00 0.09
AZUL 0.01 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LUV, AAL and AZUL?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B, American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B, Azul (AZUL) $3.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, LUV, AAL and AZUL?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x, American Airlines (AAL) -24.8x, Azul (AZUL) 211.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Azul (AZUL) is cheapest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x, Azul (AZUL) 7.8x). 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: Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%, American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) has the highest net margin (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%). On return on invested capital, Southwest Airlines (LUV) leads (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%, American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%. Over five years, Southwest Airlines (LUV) compounded fastest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr, American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been the steadiest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%, Azul (AZUL) 560.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LUV, AAL and AZUL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Southwest Airlines (LUV) leads on 10. 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.