RYAAY vs DAL vs AAL Stock Comparison

Ryanair Holdings, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$54.60 -0.8% 1M -16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$31.14B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.33B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
7 wins
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$83.29 -1.0% 1M +42.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.54B
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionRYAAYDALAALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $31.14B $58.54B $9.04B DAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.7x 17.8x -18.8x RYAAY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 16.2x — RYAAY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +14.1% +12.3% DAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 4.6% -0.8% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.8% 10.8% 3.2% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 1.3x 8.1x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -16.0% +42.4% -3.9% DAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +15.2%/yr -9.1%/yr DAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.4% 38.5% 47.0% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 39/100 27/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

RYAAYDALAAL

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

AxisRYAAYDALAAL
Valuation 61 #54 of 137 63 #52 of 137 65 #49 of 137
Growth 26 #94 of 127 50 #64 of 127 14 #110 of 127
Profitability 77 #29 of 125 48 #66 of 125 24 #95 of 125
Financial Health 78 #33 of 147 23 #113 of 147 8 #136 of 147
Shareholder Returns 42 #51 of 87 9 #79 of 87 –
Overall 57 39 27
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • DAL 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

PeriodRYAAYDALAALSPY
1 month -0.8%-1.0%-0.9% -2.0%
3 months -9.3%-10.2%-22.6% -2.2%
6 months +0.3%+17.5%+3.6% +4.2%
Year to date -24.4%+20.0%-16.4% +10.6%
1 year -16.0%+42.4%-3.9% +10.4%
3 years +44.7%+149.7%+7.0% +73.6%
3 years, per year +13.1%+35.7%+2.3% +20.2%
5 years +13.5%+103.2%-37.9% +61.6%
5 years, per year +2.6%+15.2%-9.1% +10.1%
10 years +79.3%+98.7%-67.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year +6.0%+7.1%-10.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureRYAAYDALAALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.4%38.5%47.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.4%33.6%45.2% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.361.691.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.441.10-0.08 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.9%-48.0%-59.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.0%-11.1%-29.4% -3.2%
52-week high $73.82$93.66$18.15 $779.14
52-week low $51.33$55.65$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.

MultipleRYAAYDALAAL
P/E now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 15.1x 16.6xmedian 15.1x -17.7xmedian 15.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.0x 0.8xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 8.2x 8.3xmedian 8.2x 11.0xmedian 8.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 12.7x 18.1xmedian 12.7x -93.3xmedian 12.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.2x 2.4xmedian 1.2x -2.0xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.03median 0.68 -8.93median 0.68 0.55median 0.68

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 monthsRYAAYDALAAL
Revenue $18.33B $71.80B $60.98B
Operating income $2.19B $5.29B $972.00M
Net income $2.05B $3.29B -$481.00M
Free cash flow $1.31B $3.02B -$91.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.50 $4.99 $-0.73
Cash & equivalents $2.86B $3.79B –
Total debt $497.18M $13.95B $30.57B
Shares (diluted) 532.20M 659.00M 662.71M
Enterprise value $15.41B $40.73B -$16.14B

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
MetricRYAAYDALAAL
P/E 15.5x 16.6x -17.7x
P/FCF 21.7x 18.1x -93.3x
P/Operating cash flow 7.8x 6.8x 2.0x
P/S 1.6x 0.8x 0.1x
P/B 2.2x 2.4x -2.0x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 3.3x -1.4x
EV/EBITDA 6.6x 8.3x 11.0x
EV/EBIT 11.9x 12.3x 32.8x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 0.9x 0.5x
EV/FCF 19.9x 21.5x -350.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.2x 8.1x 7.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.03 -8.93 0.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRYAAYDALAAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 14.1% 12.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.8% 7.8% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -22.5% -12.9% -54.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -2.3% -36.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -25.5% -28.9% -179.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.3% -1.1% -32.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.1% -29.5% -179.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.6% -1.9% -31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.6% 0.3% 13.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 4.0% -5.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -58.6% -1.7% -110.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -23.9% 36.6% -26.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRYAAYDALAAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 21.5% 11.0% 4.7%
Operating margin 12.0% 7.4% 1.6%
Pretax margin 12.3% 6.1% -0.9%
Net margin 10.2% 4.6% -0.8%
FCF margin 7.2% 4.2% -0.1%
Operating cash flow margin 19.9% 11.1% 7.0%
Return on equity 15.5% 14.8% –
Return on assets 8.9% 3.8% -0.7%
Return on invested capital 14.8% 10.8% 3.2%
Return on capital employed 15.2% 10.0% 2.7%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 2.4x -8.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRYAAYDALAAL
Debt / assets 2.4% 16.2% 47.0%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.6x -7.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 1.3x 8.1x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 4.6x -335.9x
Liabilities / assets 37.6% 73.8% 106.5%
Equity / assets 62.4% 26.2% -6.5%
Interest coverage – – 0.6x
Current ratio 1.2x 0.4x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.2x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 4.06 1.52 0.66

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRYAAYDALAAL
Dividend yield 2.5% 1.0% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 2.5% 1.0% 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.

ConsensusRYAAYDALAAL
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 16.2xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $3.58FY2026 $5.14FY2026 $-1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -24.8%FY2026 -11.7%FY2026 -416.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.1% +40.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.47BFY2026 $71.03BFY2026 $59.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.0%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026 +9.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% -4.2% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRYAAYDALAAL
Held by institutions 39.9% 88.2% 78.0%
Institutions holding 412 1,514 580
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% +0.6% +16.5%
Institutions buying 192 817 277
Institutions selling 149 484 182
Buyers to sellers 1.29 1.69 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.

RYAAYDALAAL
RYAAY 1.00 0.61 0.57
DAL 0.61 1.00 0.85
AAL 0.57 0.85 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RYAAY, DAL and AAL?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $31.14B, Delta Air Lines (DAL) $58.54B, American Airlines (AAL) $9.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, RYAAY, DAL and AAL?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.7x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 17.8x, American Airlines (AAL) -18.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is cheapest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 15.3x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 16.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +8.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%, American Airlines (AAL) +12.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 10.2%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.8%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%, American Airlines (AAL) 3.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Delta Air Lines (DAL) returned the most: Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -16.0%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +42.4%, American Airlines (AAL) -3.9%. Over five years, Delta Air Lines (DAL) compounded fastest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +2.6%/yr, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +15.2%/yr, American Airlines (AAL) -9.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.4%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.5%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RYAAY, DAL 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, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 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.