RYAAY vs CPA vs LUV Stock Comparison

Ryanair Holdings, Copa Holdings and Southwest Airlines Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$53.29 -3.6% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$27.82B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.19B
Div. yield
2.52%
Airlines Industrials
4 wins
CPA Copa Holdings, S.A.
$132.36 -1.0% 1M +5.6% 1Y
Market cap
$5.45B
P/E
8.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.99B
Div. yield
5.09%
Airlines Industrials
7 wins
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
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Copa Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Copa Holdings 7, Ryanair Holdings 4, Southwest Airlines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRYAAYCPALUVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $27.82B $5.45B $21.27B RYAAY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.5x 8.7x 20.2x CPA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 9.4x 16.7x CPA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.3% +14.8% +14.5% CPA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 15.7% 3.3% CPA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.9% 15.3% 8.2% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 0.9x 0.8x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.52% 5.09% 1.66% CPA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.5% +5.6% +34.7% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.8%/yr +12.3%/yr -1.7%/yr CPA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.5% 42.7% 43.5% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 64/100 57/100 CPA

Percentile Scorecard

RYAAYCPALUV

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

AxisRYAAYCPALUV
Valuation 58 #58 of 136 60 #55 of 136 49 #70 of 136
Growth 52 #59 of 121 61 #48 of 121 88 #15 of 121
Profitability 79 #25 of 115 78 #26 of 115 41 #68 of 115
Financial Health 74 #38 of 143 49 #73 of 143 32 #97 of 143
Shareholder Returns 47 #44 of 82 73 #23 of 82 77 #20 of 82
Overall 62 64 57
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CPA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodRYAAYCPALUVSPY
1 month -3.6%-1.0%+1.8% -0.2%
3 months -10.9%-5.6%-6.2% +3.9%
6 months -2.1%+15.5%+14.3% +8.2%
Year to date -26.2%+9.7%+5.1% +12.9%
1 year -13.5%+5.6%+34.7% +12.3%
3 years +49.4%+67.4%+94.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +14.3%+18.7%+24.8% +23.3%
5 years +20.3%+78.3%-8.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.8%+12.3%-1.7% +10.9%
10 years +78.8%+43.3%+10.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.0%+3.7%+1.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureRYAAYCPALUVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.5%42.7%43.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.3%40.3%38.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.411.831.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.370.130.80 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.9%-42.5%-57.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.8%-15.8%-20.7% -1.2%
52-week high $73.82$157.19$54.80 $779.14
52-week low $51.33$107.81$29.67 $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.

MultipleRYAAYCPALUV
P/E now vs peer median 13.5xmedian 16.3x 8.7xmedian 16.3x 20.2xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 8.7x 5.5xmedian 8.7x 8.0xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 11.4x —median 11.4x -47.4xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.2x 1.9xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.43median 0.82 1.47median 0.82 0.50median 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 monthsRYAAYCPALUV
Revenue $18.19B $3.99B $31.55B
Operating income $2.38B $772.19M $1.39B
Net income $2.21B $626.62M $1.05B
Free cash flow $2.16B – -$449.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.90 $15.19 $2.13
Cash & equivalents $2.84B $266.83M $3.62B
Total debt $4.75B $7.93B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 532.20M 41.26M 494.00M
Enterprise value $11.46B $518.51M $7.30B

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
MetricRYAAYCPALUV
P/E 13.5x 8.7x 20.2x
P/FCF 12.9x – -47.4x
P/Operating cash flow 6.9x – 7.7x
P/S 1.5x 1.4x 0.7x
P/B 2.6x 1.9x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 2.0x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 6.2x 5.5x 8.0x
EV/EBIT 10.5x 8.4x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 1.6x 0.7x
EV/FCF 11.6x – -52.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.2x – 8.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.43 1.47 0.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRYAAYCPALUV
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.3% 14.8% 14.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 5.7% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 0.5% -0.3% 339.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 0.9% 78.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -4.6% -1.7% 177.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 22.2% 28.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -13.5% -0.5% 195.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 5.9% 40.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.0% – 36.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.1% – -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -21.9% – -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.4% – 20.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRYAAYCPALUV
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.3% 29.4% 9.4%
Operating margin 13.1% 19.4% 4.4%
Pretax margin 13.4% 18.0% 4.3%
Net margin 11.4% 15.7% 3.3%
FCF margin 11.9% – -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 22.1% – 8.7%
Return on equity 18.5% 21.8% 14.6%
Return on assets 9.6% 8.9% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 16.9% 15.3% 8.2%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 14.4% 8.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x – 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRYAAYCPALUV
Debt / assets 0.2% 31.8% 19.3%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.8x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 0.9x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 0.0x – -13.1x
Liabilities / assets 47.8% 59.7% 76.0%
Equity / assets 52.2% 40.3% 24.0%
Interest coverage – 7.3x 5.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.1x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.9x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.8x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.38 2.23 2.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRYAAYCPALUV
Dividend yield 2.5% 5.1% 1.7%
Net buyback yield – – 5.8%
Shareholder yield 2.5% 5.1% 7.5%
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.

ConsensusRYAAYCPALUV
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 9.4xFY2026 16.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.58FY2026 $14.13FY2026 $2.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -24.8%FY2026 -13.2%FY2026 +179.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.1% +41.4% +58.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.47BFY2026 $4.72BFY2026 $31.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.0%FY2026 +30.3%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% -4.7% +16.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRYAAYCPALUV
Held by institutions 39.9% 62.4% 92.9%
Institutions holding 410 321 930
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% -4.3% +4.4%
Institutions buying 192 187 476
Institutions selling 147 98 280
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.91 1.70

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.

RYAAYCPALUV
RYAAY 1.00 0.61 0.59
CPA 0.61 1.00 0.55
LUV 0.59 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RYAAY, CPA and LUV?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $27.82B, Copa Holdings (CPA) $5.45B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $21.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, RYAAY, CPA and LUV?

Copa Holdings (CPA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 13.5x, Copa Holdings (CPA) 8.7x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copa Holdings (CPA) is cheapest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.9x, Copa Holdings (CPA) 9.4x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 16.7x). 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: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +13.3%, Copa Holdings (CPA) +14.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Copa Holdings (CPA) has the highest net margin (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 11.4%, Copa Holdings (CPA) 15.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.9%, Copa Holdings (CPA) 15.3%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -13.5%, Copa Holdings (CPA) +5.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +34.7%. Over five years, Copa Holdings (CPA) compounded fastest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +3.8%/yr, Copa Holdings (CPA) +12.3%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -1.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Copa Holdings (CPA) has the highest dividend yield: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 2.52%, Copa Holdings (CPA) 5.09%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 1.66%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, Copa Holdings (CPA) 42.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.