SKYW vs RYAAY vs UAL Stock Comparison

Skywest, Ryanair Holdings and United Airlines Holdings Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SKYW Skywest Inc
$82.41 -14.2% 1M -13.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.13B
P/E
7.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.26B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
3 wins
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$59.05 +8.0% 1M -8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$30.82B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.33B
Div. yield
2.28%
Airlines Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

United Airlines Holdings leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (United Airlines Holdings 4, Ryanair Holdings 4, Skywest 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSKYWRYAAYUALLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.13B $30.82B $37.61B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.9x 16.7x 10.5x SKYW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.4x 16.5x 16.4x SKYW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +8.5% +12.3% UAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.7% 10.2% 5.5% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 14.8% 8.9% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x -0.6x 1.5x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.28% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.3% -8.6% +27.5% UAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.8%/yr +3.6%/yr +17.1%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.5% 37.3% 48.4% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 55/100 48/100 SKYW

Percentile Scorecard

SKYWRYAAYUAL

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

AxisSKYWRYAAYUAL
Valuation 85 #22 of 137 56 #61 of 137 71 #41 of 137
Growth 66 #44 of 127 25 #95 of 127 49 #65 of 127
Profitability 59 #52 of 125 77 #29 of 125 50 #63 of 125
Financial Health 26 #109 of 147 78 #33 of 147 21 #116 of 147
Shareholder Returns 97 #4 of 88 38 #55 of 88 –
Overall 66 55 48
  • SKYW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSKYWRYAAYUALSPY
1 month -14.2%+8.0%+5.2% -1.0%
3 months -28.9%-3.5%-12.8% -0.4%
6 months -6.2%+0.9%+15.7% +4.5%
Year to date -17.9%-18.2%+3.5% +12.4%
1 year -13.3%-8.6%+27.5% +13.6%
3 years +85.1%+56.5%+208.6% +76.4%
3 years, per year +22.8%+16.1%+45.6% +20.8%
5 years +67.0%+19.1%+119.6% +63.7%
5 years, per year +10.8%+3.6%+17.1% +10.4%
10 years +178.9%+95.9%+102.3% +267.7%
10 years, per year +10.8%+7.0%+7.3% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureSKYWRYAAYUALSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.5%37.3%48.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.8%35.6%43.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.461.422.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.33-0.230.57 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.5%-54.9%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.9%-20.0%-15.0% -1.6%
52-week high $115.94$73.82$136.11 $779.14
52-week low $77.70$51.33$85.21 $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.

MultipleSKYWRYAAYUAL
P/E now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 14.5x 16.7xmedian 14.5x 10.5xmedian 14.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.0x 1.7xmedian 1.0x 0.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 8.2x 7.2xmedian 8.2x 6.2xmedian 8.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 12.9x 23.4xmedian 12.9x 33.7xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.2x 2.3xmedian 1.2x 2.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 0.64 -2.19median 0.64 1.27median 0.64

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 monthsSKYWRYAAYUAL
Revenue $4.26B $18.33B $65.55B
Operating income $589.74M $2.19B $4.92B
Net income $413.07M $2.05B $3.58B
Free cash flow $199.17M $1.31B $1.12B
EPS (diluted) $10.43 $3.50 $10.93
Cash & equivalents $71.75M $2.86B $6.65B
Total debt $2.38B $497.18M $26.40B
Shares (diluted) 39.62M 532.20M 327.40M
Enterprise value $630.27M $15.09B -$20.09B

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
MetricSKYWRYAAYUAL
P/E 7.9x 16.7x 10.5x
P/FCF 15.7x 23.4x 33.7x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 8.5x 4.6x
P/S 0.7x 1.7x 0.6x
P/B 1.1x 2.3x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 2.4x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 5.3x 7.2x 6.2x
EV/EBIT 8.4x 13.0x 10.0x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 1.6x 0.8x
EV/FCF 24.8x 21.6x 44.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.2x 7.8x 6.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 -2.19 1.27

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYUAL
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 8.5% 12.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 9.8% 7.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.1% -22.5% 1.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 142.4% -3.1% 2.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -4.9% -25.5% 8.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 150.1% -5.3% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.7% -35.1% 8.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 155.4% -7.6% 8.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -10.7% -16.6% -12.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.2% -3.7% -3.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -45.8% -58.6% -69.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.8% -23.9% -5.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYUAL
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.1% 21.5% 12.2%
Operating margin 13.9% 12.0% 7.5%
Pretax margin 12.5% 12.3% 6.9%
Net margin 9.7% 10.2% 5.5%
FCF margin 4.7% 7.2% 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin 18.8% 19.9% 12.4%
Return on equity 14.8% 15.5% 20.8%
Return on assets 5.5% 8.9% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 14.8% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 10.3% 15.2% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.8x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYUAL
Debt / assets 31.7% 2.4% 31.0%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.0x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x -0.6x 1.5x
Debt / FCF 11.9x 0.4x 23.7x
Liabilities / assets 62.6% 37.6% 79.1%
Equity / assets 37.4% 62.4% 20.9%
Interest coverage 5.9x – 3.6x
Current ratio 0.6x 1.2x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 1.73 4.24 1.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSKYWRYAAYUAL
Dividend yield – 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 8.0% – –
Shareholder yield 8.0% 2.3% 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.

ConsensusSKYWRYAAYUAL
Forward P/E 7.4xFY2026 16.5xFY2026 16.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.20FY2026 $3.58FY2026 $7.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026 -33.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.1% -6.1% +75.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.61BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026 $66.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.2% 0.0% +13.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSKYWRYAAYUAL
Held by institutions 92.2% 39.9% 89.6%
Institutions holding 351 412 1,070
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% -0.8% +2.4%
Institutions buying 182 192 570
Institutions selling 140 149 343
Buyers to sellers 1.30 1.29 1.66

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.

SKYWRYAAYUAL
SKYW 1.00 0.54 0.69
RYAAY 0.54 1.00 0.63
UAL 0.69 0.63 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SKYW, RYAAY and UAL?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Skywest (SKYW) $3.13B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $30.82B, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $37.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, SKYW, RYAAY and UAL?

Skywest (SKYW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Skywest (SKYW) 7.9x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.7x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 10.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Skywest (SKYW) is cheapest (Skywest (SKYW) 7.4x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.5x, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 16.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Skywest (SKYW) +7.0%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +8.5%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (Skywest (SKYW) 9.7%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 10.2%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (Skywest (SKYW) 8.9%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Airlines Holdings (UAL) returned the most: Skywest (SKYW) -13.3%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -8.6%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +27.5%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (Skywest (SKYW) +10.8%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +3.6%/yr, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +17.1%/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) 2.28%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 0.00%. Skywest (SKYW) and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (Skywest (SKYW) 40.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 37.3%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SKYW, RYAAY and UAL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) leads on 4. 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.