SKYW vs RYAAY vs AAL Stock Comparison

Skywest, Ryanair Holdings 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
5 wins
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
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 6, Skywest 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSKYWRYAAYAALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.72B $27.82B $8.35B RYAAY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.2x 13.5x -25.6x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 14.9x — SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +13.3% +7.5% RYAAY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.8% 11.4% -0.6% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 16.9% 3.6% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -0.7x 7.6x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.52% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.4% -13.5% -6.0% SKYW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.8%/yr +3.8%/yr -8.1%/yr SKYW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.4% 36.5% 47.1% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 62/100 28/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

SKYWRYAAYAAL

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

AxisSKYWRYAAYAAL
Valuation 84 #22 of 136 58 #58 of 136 70 #42 of 136
Growth 82 #23 of 121 52 #59 of 121 13 #105 of 121
Profitability 63 #43 of 115 79 #25 of 115 23 #89 of 115
Financial Health 30 #101 of 143 74 #38 of 143 8 #132 of 143
Shareholder Returns 91 #8 of 82 47 #44 of 82 –
Overall 70 62 28
  • SKYW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY 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

PeriodSKYWRYAAYAALSPY
1 month -6.5%-3.6%-9.1% -0.2%
3 months -15.9%-10.9%-17.9% +3.9%
6 months +15.5%-2.1%+8.3% +8.2%
Year to date -4.7%-26.2%-17.7% +12.9%
1 year -5.4%-13.5%-6.0% +12.3%
3 years +126.4%+49.4%+15.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +31.3%+14.3%+4.9% +23.3%
5 years +107.9%+20.3%-34.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +15.8%+3.8%-8.1% +10.9%
10 years +227.1%+78.8%-68.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.6%+6.0%-10.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSKYWRYAAYAALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.4%36.5%47.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.9%35.3%45.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.311.411.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.14-0.37-0.13 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.5%-54.9%-59.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.5%-27.8%-30.5% -1.2%
52-week high $115.94$73.82$18.15 $779.14
52-week low $78.40$51.33$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.

MultipleSKYWRYAAYAAL
P/E now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 16.3x 13.5xmedian 16.3x -25.6xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 8.7x 6.2xmedian 8.7x 10.5xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 11.4x 12.9xmedian 11.4x 29.3xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.2x 2.6xmedian 1.2x -2.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.03median 0.82 3.43median 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 monthsSKYWRYAAYAAL
Revenue $4.19B $18.19B $58.34B
Operating income $587.86M $2.38B $1.01B
Net income $409.91M $2.21B -$326.00M
Free cash flow $371.69M $2.16B $285.00M
EPS (diluted) $10.35 $3.90 $-0.49
Cash & equivalents $81.41M $2.84B –
Total debt $2.31B $4.75B $28.93B
Shares (diluted) 39.62M 532.20M 662.61M
Enterprise value $1.03B $11.46B -$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
MetricSKYWRYAAYAAL
P/E 9.2x 13.5x -25.6x
P/FCF 10.0x 12.9x 29.3x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 6.9x 1.9x
P/S 0.9x 1.5x 0.1x
P/B 1.3x 2.6x -2.1x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 2.6x -1.4x
EV/EBITDA 5.7x 6.2x 10.5x
EV/EBIT 9.2x 10.5x 30.3x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 1.4x 0.5x
EV/FCF 14.6x 11.6x 107.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.7x 6.2x 7.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.03 3.43 0.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYAAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 13.3% 7.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 12.8% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 0.5% 0.5% -51.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 105.6% 6.2% -41.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.5% -4.6% -157.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 327.5% 6.1% -28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.9% -13.5% -157.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 343.1% 4.0% -28.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.9% -1.0% 6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 0.1% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.1% -21.9% -81.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.2% -7.4% -47.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYAAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.8% 22.3% 5.0%
Operating margin 14.0% 13.1% 1.7%
Pretax margin 12.6% 13.4% -0.6%
Net margin 9.8% 11.4% -0.6%
FCF margin 8.9% 11.9% 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 22.6% 22.1% 7.5%
Return on equity 14.9% 18.5% –
Return on assets 5.6% 9.6% -0.5%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 16.9% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 10.5% 18.7% 2.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.8x -13.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYAAL
Debt / assets 31.2% 0.2% 45.0%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.0x -7.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -0.7x 7.6x
Debt / FCF 6.2x 0.0x 101.5x
Liabilities / assets 62.7% 47.8% 106.2%
Equity / assets 37.3% 52.2% -6.2%
Interest coverage 5.9x – 0.6x
Current ratio 0.6x 0.8x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.79 3.38 0.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYAAL
Dividend yield – 2.5% –
Net buyback yield 5.4% – –
Shareholder yield 5.4% 2.5% 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.

ConsensusSKYWRYAAYAAL
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 14.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $11.20FY2026 $3.58FY2026 $-1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026 -416.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.1% -6.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.61BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026 $59.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +9.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.2% 0.0% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSKYWRYAAYAAL
Held by institutions 92.2% 39.9% 78.0%
Institutions holding 350 410 578
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% -0.8% +16.5%
Institutions buying 181 192 276
Institutions selling 140 147 182
Buyers to sellers 1.29 1.31 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.

SKYWRYAAYAAL
SKYW 1.00 0.57 0.72
RYAAY 0.57 1.00 0.56
AAL 0.72 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SKYW, RYAAY and AAL?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Skywest (SKYW) $3.72B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $27.82B, American Airlines (AAL) $8.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, SKYW, RYAAY and AAL?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Skywest (SKYW) 9.2x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 13.5x, American Airlines (AAL) -25.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (Skywest (SKYW) 8.5x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Skywest (SKYW) +9.1%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +13.3%, American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (Skywest (SKYW) 9.8%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 11.4%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.9%, American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Skywest (SKYW) returned the most: Skywest (SKYW) -5.4%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -13.5%, American Airlines (AAL) -6.0%. Over five years, Skywest (SKYW) compounded fastest (Skywest (SKYW) +15.8%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +3.8%/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%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 2.52%, American Airlines (AAL) 0.00%. Skywest (SKYW) and American Airlines (AAL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Skywest (SKYW) 37.4%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.5%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SKYW, RYAAY 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 6. 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.