SKYW vs LUV vs AAL Stock Comparison

Skywest, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
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
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionSKYWLUVAALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.72B $21.27B $8.35B LUV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.2x 20.2x -25.6x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 16.7x — SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +14.5% +7.5% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.8% 3.3% -0.6% SKYW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 8.2% 3.6% SKYW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 0.8x 7.6x LUV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.66% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.4% +34.7% -6.0% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.8%/yr -1.7%/yr -8.1%/yr SKYW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.4% 43.5% 47.1% SKYW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 57/100 28/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

SKYWLUVAAL

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

AxisSKYWLUVAAL
Valuation 84 #22 of 136 49 #70 of 136 70 #42 of 136
Growth 82 #23 of 121 88 #15 of 121 13 #105 of 121
Profitability 63 #43 of 115 41 #68 of 115 23 #89 of 115
Financial Health 30 #101 of 143 32 #97 of 143 8 #132 of 143
Shareholder Returns 91 #8 of 82 77 #20 of 82 –
Overall 70 57 28
  • SKYW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV 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

PeriodSKYWLUVAALSPY
1 month -6.5%+1.8%-9.1% -0.2%
3 months -15.9%-6.2%-17.9% +3.9%
6 months +15.5%+14.3%+8.3% +8.2%
Year to date -4.7%+5.1%-17.7% +12.9%
1 year -5.4%+34.7%-6.0% +12.3%
3 years +126.4%+94.5%+15.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +31.3%+24.8%+4.9% +23.3%
5 years +107.9%-8.0%-34.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +15.8%-1.7%-8.1% +10.9%
10 years +227.1%+10.7%-68.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.6%+1.0%-10.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSKYWLUVAALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.4%43.5%47.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.9%38.3%45.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.311.611.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.140.80-0.13 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.5%-57.4%-59.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.5%-20.7%-30.5% -1.2%
52-week high $115.94$54.80$18.15 $779.14
52-week low $78.40$29.67$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.

MultipleSKYWLUVAAL
P/E now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 16.3x 20.2xmedian 16.3x -25.6xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 8.7x 8.0xmedian 8.7x 10.5xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 11.4x -47.4xmedian 11.4x 29.3xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 1.2x -2.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.03median 0.82 0.50median 0.82 0.89median 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 monthsSKYWLUVAAL
Revenue $4.19B $31.55B $58.34B
Operating income $587.86M $1.39B $1.01B
Net income $409.91M $1.05B -$326.00M
Free cash flow $371.69M -$449.00M $285.00M
EPS (diluted) $10.35 $2.13 $-0.49
Cash & equivalents $81.41M $3.62B –
Total debt $2.31B $5.89B $28.93B
Shares (diluted) 39.62M 494.00M 662.61M
Enterprise value $1.03B $7.30B -$15.69B

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
MetricSKYWLUVAAL
P/E 9.2x 20.2x -25.6x
P/FCF 10.0x -47.4x 29.3x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 7.7x 1.9x
P/S 0.9x 0.7x 0.1x
P/B 1.3x 2.9x -2.1x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 2.9x -1.4x
EV/EBITDA 5.7x 8.0x 10.5x
EV/EBIT 9.2x 17.0x 30.3x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 0.7x 0.5x
EV/FCF 14.6x -52.4x 107.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.7x 8.5x 7.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.03 0.50 0.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSKYWLUVAAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 14.5% 7.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 7.4% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 0.5% 339.7% -51.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 105.6% 78.6% -41.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.5% 177.8% -157.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 327.5% 28.4% -28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.9% 195.8% -157.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 343.1% 40.0% -28.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.9% 36.2% 6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.6% -6.0% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.1% -35.2% -81.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.2% 20.2% -47.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSKYWLUVAAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.8% 9.4% 5.0%
Operating margin 14.0% 4.4% 1.7%
Pretax margin 12.6% 4.3% -0.6%
Net margin 9.8% 3.3% -0.6%
FCF margin 8.9% -1.4% 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 22.6% 8.7% 7.5%
Return on equity 14.9% 14.6% –
Return on assets 5.6% 3.5% -0.5%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 8.2% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 10.5% 8.3% 2.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.6x -13.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSKYWLUVAAL
Debt / assets 31.2% 19.3% 45.0%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.8x -7.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 0.8x 7.6x
Debt / FCF 6.2x -13.1x 101.5x
Liabilities / assets 62.7% 76.0% 106.2%
Equity / assets 37.3% 24.0% -6.2%
Interest coverage 5.9x 5.9x 0.6x
Current ratio 0.6x 0.5x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.79 2.22 0.65

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusSKYWLUVAAL
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 16.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $11.20FY2026 $2.60FY2026 $-1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 +179.6%FY2026 -416.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.1% +58.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.61BFY2026 $31.34BFY2026 $59.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026 +9.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.2% +16.7% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSKYWLUVAAL
Held by institutions 92.2% 92.9% 78.0%
Institutions holding 350 930 578
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +4.4% +16.5%
Institutions buying 181 476 276
Institutions selling 140 280 182
Buyers to sellers 1.29 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.

SKYWLUVAAL
SKYW 1.00 0.67 0.72
LUV 0.67 1.00 0.75
AAL 0.72 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SKYW, LUV and AAL?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Skywest (SKYW) $3.72B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $21.27B, American Airlines (AAL) $8.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, SKYW, LUV and AAL?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Skywest (SKYW) 9.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20.2x, American Airlines (AAL) -25.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (Skywest (SKYW) 8.5x, 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?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Skywest (SKYW) +9.1%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%, American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Skywest (SKYW) has the highest net margin (Skywest (SKYW) 9.8%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%). On return on invested capital, Skywest (SKYW) leads (Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%, 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: Skywest (SKYW) -5.4%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +34.7%, American Airlines (AAL) -6.0%. Over five years, Skywest (SKYW) compounded fastest (Skywest (SKYW) +15.8%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -1.7%/yr, American Airlines (AAL) -8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Skywest (SKYW) 0.00%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 1.66%, American Airlines (AAL) 0.00%. Skywest (SKYW) and American Airlines (AAL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Skywest (SKYW) has been the steadiest (Skywest (SKYW) 37.4%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.5%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SKYW, LUV 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, 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.