LUV vs SKYW vs AERO Stock Comparison

Southwest Airlines, Skywest and Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$43.45 +1.8% 1M +34.7% 1Y
Market cap
$21.27B
P/E
20.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
1.66%
Airlines Industrials
3 wins
SKYW Skywest Inc
$95.68 -6.5% 1M -5.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.72B
P/E
9.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.19B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Skywest leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Skywest 7, Southwest Airlines 3, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLUVSKYWAEROLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $21.27B $3.72B $2.13B LUV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.2x 9.2x 13.3x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.7x 8.5x 41.6x SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.5% +9.1% +8.8% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.3% 9.8% 3.6% SKYW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.2% 8.9% — SKYW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.8x -0.4x AERO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.66% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.7% -5.4% — LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.7%/yr +15.8%/yr — SKYW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.5% 37.4% 54.2% SKYW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 70/100 59/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

LUVSKYWAERO

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

AxisLUVSKYWAERO
Valuation 49 #70 of 136 84 #22 of 136 99 #3 of 136
Growth 88 #15 of 121 82 #23 of 121 16 #102 of 121
Profitability 41 #68 of 115 63 #43 of 115 54 #54 of 115
Financial Health 32 #97 of 143 30 #101 of 143 66 #49 of 143
Shareholder Returns 77 #20 of 82 91 #8 of 82 –
Overall 57 70 59
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SKYW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AERO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLUVSKYWAEROSPY
1 month +1.8%-6.5%-8.1% -0.2%
3 months -6.2%-15.9%-6.5% +3.9%
6 months +14.3%+15.5%-1.2% +8.2%
Year to date +5.1%-4.7%-33.7% +12.9%
1 year +34.7%-5.4%— +12.3%
3 years +94.5%+126.4%— +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.8%+31.3%— +23.3%
5 years -8.0%+107.9%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -1.7%+15.8%— +10.9%
10 years +10.7%+227.1%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +1.0%+12.6%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLUVSKYWAEROSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.5%37.4%54.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.3%35.9%56.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.611.311.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.80-0.14— 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.4%-70.5%-46.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.7%-17.5%-36.4% -1.2%
52-week high $54.80$115.94$22.91 $779.14
52-week low $29.67$78.40$12.36 $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.

MultipleLUVSKYWAERO
P/E now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 16.3x 9.2xmedian 16.3x 13.3xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.0x 0.9xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 8.7x 5.7xmedian 8.7x 1.3xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -47.4xmedian 11.4x 10.0xmedian 11.4x 3.4xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.2x 1.3xmedian 1.2x -3.6xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.50median 0.82 0.03median 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 monthsLUVSKYWAERO
Revenue $31.55B $4.19B $4.40B
Operating income $1.39B $587.86M $635.00M
Net income $1.05B $409.91M $120.00M
Free cash flow -$449.00M $371.69M $630.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.13 $10.35 $1.09
Cash & equivalents $3.62B $81.41M $965.00M
Total debt $5.89B $2.31B $475.00M
Shares (diluted) 494.00M 39.62M 145.90M
Enterprise value $7.30B $1.03B -$1.95B

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
MetricLUVSKYWAERO
P/E 20.2x 9.2x 13.3x
P/FCF -47.4x 10.0x 3.4x
P/Operating cash flow 7.7x 3.9x 3.4x
P/S 0.7x 0.9x 0.5x
P/B 2.9x 1.3x -3.6x
P/Tangible book 2.9x 1.3x -3.6x
EV/EBITDA 8.0x 5.7x 1.3x
EV/EBIT 17.0x 9.2x 2.6x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 1.3x 0.4x
EV/FCF -52.4x 14.6x 2.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.5x 5.7x 2.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.50 0.03 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLUVSKYWAERO
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.5% 9.1% 8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.2% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 339.7% 0.5% -2.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 78.6% 105.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% 0.5% -38.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.4% 327.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) 195.8% 4.9% -43.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.0% 343.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 36.2% 18.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.0% 16.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.2% 23.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.2% 42.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLUVSKYWAERO
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 9.4% 22.8% 27.6%
Operating margin 4.4% 14.0% 14.4%
Pretax margin 4.3% 12.6% 5.5%
Net margin 3.3% 9.8% 3.6%
FCF margin -1.4% 8.9% 14.3%
Operating cash flow margin 8.7% 22.6% 14.3%
Return on equity 14.6% 14.9% –
Return on assets 3.5% 5.6% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 8.2% 8.9% –
Return on capital employed 8.3% 10.5% 10.0%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 2.3x 5.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLUVSKYWAERO
Debt / assets 19.3% 31.2% 6.4%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.8x -0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.8x -0.4x
Debt / FCF -13.1x 6.2x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 62.7% 108.0%
Equity / assets 24.0% 37.3% -8.0%
Interest coverage 5.9x 5.9x 5.8x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.6x 2.0x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 2.22 1.79 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLUVSKYWAERO
Dividend yield 1.7% – –
Net buyback yield 5.8% 5.4% –
Shareholder yield 7.5% 5.4% 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.

ConsensusLUVSKYWAERO
Forward P/E 16.7xFY2026 8.5xFY2026 41.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.60FY2026 $11.20FY2026 $0.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +179.6%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 -85.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +58.8% +2.1% +408.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.34BFY2026 $4.61BFY2026 $5.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.7%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.7% +4.2% +15.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLUVSKYWAERO
Held by institutions 92.9% 92.2% 65.1%
Institutions holding 930 350 75
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -1.1% -1.5%
Institutions buying 476 181 32
Institutions selling 280 140 17
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.29 1.88

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.

LUVSKYWAERO
LUV 1.00 0.67 0.38
SKYW 0.67 1.00 0.38
AERO 0.38 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LUV, SKYW and AERO?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southwest Airlines (LUV) $21.27B, Skywest (SKYW) $3.72B, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) $2.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, LUV, SKYW and AERO?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20.2x, Skywest (SKYW) 9.2x, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 13.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 16.7x, Skywest (SKYW) 8.5x, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 41.6x). 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%, Skywest (SKYW) +9.1%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Skywest (SKYW) has the highest net margin (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, Skywest (SKYW) 9.8%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 3.6%). On return on invested capital, Skywest (SKYW) leads (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Southwest Airlines (LUV) +34.7%, Skywest (SKYW) -5.4%. Over five years, Skywest (SKYW) compounded fastest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) -1.7%/yr, Skywest (SKYW) +15.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Southwest Airlines (LUV) 1.66%, Skywest (SKYW) 0.00%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 0.00%. Skywest (SKYW) and Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Skywest (SKYW) has been the steadiest (Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.5%, Skywest (SKYW) 37.4%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 54.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LUV, SKYW and AERO?

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