LUV vs RYAAY vs ALK Stock Comparison

Southwest Airlines, Ryanair Holdings and Alaska Air Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$52.53 -3.9% 1M -13.2% 1Y
Market cap
$27.97B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.19B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 9, Southwest Airlines 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLUVRYAAYALKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $20.96B $27.97B $3.88B RYAAY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x 13.5x -22.2x RYAAY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.7x 14.6x — RYAAY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.5% +13.3% +9.8% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.3% 11.4% -1.2% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.2% 16.9% -1.1% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.7x 6.1x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.9% -13.2% -26.2% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr +3.9%/yr -8.6%/yr RYAAY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.4% 36.5% 52.3% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 62/100 40/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

LUVRYAAYALK

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

AxisLUVRYAAYALK
Valuation 54 #63 of 136 60 #55 of 136 49 #70 of 136
Growth 88 #15 of 122 52 #59 of 122 20 #98 of 122
Profitability 43 #68 of 119 83 #21 of 119 20 #95 of 119
Financial Health 32 #100 of 147 73 #40 of 147 11 #131 of 147
Shareholder Returns 77 #20 of 84 41 #50 of 84 98 #3 of 84
Overall 59 62 40
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ALK ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLUVRYAAYALKSPY
1 month +1.7%-3.9%-13.3% -1.0%
3 months -7.4%-7.6%-25.5% +2.9%
6 months +5.8%-7.3%-17.3% +6.4%
Year to date +1.0%-27.2%-31.6% +11.4%
1 year +31.9%-13.2%-26.2% +13.1%
3 years +74.6%+46.1%+8.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.4%+13.5%+2.6% +21.5%
5 years -12.4%+21.1%-36.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -2.6%+3.9%-8.6% +10.9%
10 years -1.6%+78.9%-53.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -0.2%+6.0%-7.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLUVRYAAYALKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.4%36.5%52.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.3%35.3%50.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.591.402.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.73-0.36-0.50 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.4%-54.9%-56.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.8%-28.8%-42.9% -2.5%
52-week high $54.80$73.82$60.21 $779.14
52-week low $29.67$51.33$33.56 $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.

MultipleLUVRYAAYALK
P/E now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 16.0x 13.4xmedian 16.0x -21.8xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x 0.3xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 8.7x 6.1xmedian 8.7x 12.6xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -45.5xmedian 11.5x 12.7xmedian 11.5x -11.0xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.48median 0.82 3.38median 0.82 0.45median 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 monthsLUVRYAAYALK
Revenue $31.55B $18.19B $14.76B
Operating income $1.39B $2.38B -$224.00M
Net income $1.05B $2.21B -$175.00M
Free cash flow -$449.00M $2.16B -$350.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.13 $3.90 $-1.57
Cash & equivalents $3.62B $2.84B $1.06B
Total debt $5.89B $4.75B $6.24B
Shares (diluted) 494.00M 532.20M 111.13M
Enterprise value $6.98B $11.62B -$3.94B

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
MetricLUVRYAAYALK
P/E 19.4x 13.4x -21.8x
P/FCF -45.5x 12.7x -11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 7.4x 6.8x 3.8x
P/S 0.6x 1.5x 0.3x
P/B 2.8x 2.5x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 2.8x 2.6x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 7.7x 6.1x 12.6x
EV/EBIT 16.4x 10.4x -33.1x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 1.4x 0.5x
EV/FCF -50.6x 11.4x -21.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.2x 6.1x 7.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.48 3.38 0.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLUVRYAAYALK
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.5% 13.3% 9.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 12.8% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 339.7% 0.5% -145.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 78.6% 6.2% -43.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% -4.6% -155.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.4% 6.1% -45.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 195.8% -13.5% -160.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.0% 4.0% -48.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 36.2% -1.0% -28.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.0% 0.1% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.2% -21.9% 9.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.2% -7.4% 19.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLUVRYAAYALK
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 9.4% 22.3% 4.0%
Operating margin 4.4% 13.1% -1.5%
Pretax margin 4.3% 13.4% -2.6%
Net margin 3.3% 11.4% -1.2%
FCF margin -1.4% 11.9% -2.4%
Operating cash flow margin 8.7% 22.1% 6.9%
Return on equity 14.6% 18.5% -4.7%
Return on assets 3.5% 9.6% -0.8%
Return on invested capital 8.2% 16.9% -1.1%
Return on capital employed 8.3% 18.7% -1.6%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.8x -5.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLUVRYAAYALK
Debt / assets 19.3% 0.2% 29.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.0x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.7x 6.1x
Debt / FCF -13.1x 0.0x -17.8x
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 47.8% 82.7%
Equity / assets 24.0% 52.2% 17.3%
Interest coverage 5.9x – -0.7x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.20 3.36 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLUVRYAAYALK
Dividend yield 1.7% 2.6% –
Net buyback yield 6.1% – 7.4%
Shareholder yield 7.8% 2.6% 7.4%
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.

ConsensusLUVRYAAYALK
Forward P/E 15.7xFY2026 14.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $2.66FY2026 $3.60FY2026 $-3.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +186.0%FY2026 -24.4%FY2026 -246.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +62.4% -5.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.07BFY2026 $18.49BFY2026 $15.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.6% -0.3% +8.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLUVRYAAYALK
Held by institutions 92.9% 39.9% 92.1%
Institutions holding 930 410 490
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -0.8% +0.0%
Institutions buying 476 192 265
Institutions selling 280 147 146
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.31 1.82

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.

LUVRYAAYALK
LUV 1.00 0.59 0.75
RYAAY 0.59 1.00 0.63
ALK 0.75 0.63 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LUV, RYAAY and ALK?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $27.97B, Alaska Air (ALK) $3.88B.

Which stock is cheaper, LUV, RYAAY and ALK?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 13.5x, Alaska Air (ALK) -22.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is cheapest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.6x). 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%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +13.3%, Alaska Air (ALK) +9.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 11.4%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.2%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.9%, Alaska Air (ALK) -1.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -13.2%, Alaska Air (ALK) -26.2%. Over five years, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) compounded fastest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +3.9%/yr, Alaska Air (ALK) -8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, Alaska Air (ALK) 52.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.