UAL vs AAL vs LUV Stock Comparison

United Airlines Holdings, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$41.74 +1.7% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.96B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionUALAALLUVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $32.72B $8.09B $20.96B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.1x -24.8x 19.9x UAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.5x — 15.7x UAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.3% +7.5% +14.5% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.5% -0.6% 3.3% UAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 3.6% 8.2% UAL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 7.6x 0.8x LUV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.4% -5.2% +31.9% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.0%/yr -8.8%/yr -2.6%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 48.1% 47.7% 43.4% LUV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 29/100 59/100 LUV

Percentile Scorecard

UALAALLUV

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

AxisUALAALLUV
Valuation 74 #36 of 136 70 #41 of 136 54 #63 of 136
Growth 50 #61 of 122 14 #105 of 122 88 #15 of 122
Profitability 49 #61 of 119 24 #91 of 119 43 #68 of 119
Financial Health 21 #116 of 147 8 #136 of 147 32 #100 of 147
Shareholder Returns – – 77 #20 of 84
Overall 49 29 59
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AAL 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

PeriodUALAALLUVSPY
1 month -11.6%-9.3%+1.7% -1.0%
3 months -17.2%-16.4%-7.4% +2.9%
6 months +5.3%+0.1%+5.8% +6.4%
Year to date -12.4%-21.0%+1.0% +11.4%
1 year +2.4%-5.2%+31.9% +13.1%
3 years +178.7%+8.0%+74.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +40.8%+2.6%+20.4% +21.5%
5 years +109.6%-36.8%-12.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.0%-8.8%-2.6% +10.9%
10 years +76.1%-69.6%-1.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +5.8%-11.2%-0.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureUALAALLUVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 48.1%47.7%43.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.9%45.8%38.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.211.921.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.05-0.110.73 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.2%-59.3%-57.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.1%-33.3%-23.8% -2.5%
52-week high $136.11$18.15$54.80 $779.14
52-week low $85.21$10.18$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.

MultipleUALAALLUV
P/E now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 16.0x -24.6xmedian 16.0x 19.4xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.0x 0.1xmedian 1.0x 0.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 8.7x 10.4xmedian 8.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 11.5x 28.1xmedian 11.5x -45.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.2x -2.0xmedian 1.2x 2.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 0.82 0.86median 0.82 0.48median 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 monthsUALAALLUV
Revenue $65.55B $58.34B $31.55B
Operating income $4.92B $1.01B $1.39B
Net income $3.58B -$326.00M $1.05B
Free cash flow $1.12B $285.00M -$449.00M
EPS (diluted) $10.93 $-0.49 $2.13
Cash & equivalents $6.65B – $3.62B
Total debt $26.40B $28.93B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 327.40M 662.61M 494.00M
Enterprise value -$24.97B -$15.95B $6.98B

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
MetricUALAALLUV
P/E 8.9x -24.6x 19.4x
P/FCF 28.5x 28.1x -45.5x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 1.8x 7.4x
P/S 0.5x 0.1x 0.6x
P/B 1.8x -2.0x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 2.1x -1.3x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 5.5x 10.4x 7.7x
EV/EBIT 8.8x 30.0x 16.4x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.5x 0.7x
EV/FCF 39.0x 106.0x -50.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.3x 6.9x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 0.86 0.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUALAALLUV
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.3% 7.5% 14.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 3.3% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.9% -51.7% 339.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% -41.0% 78.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.6% -157.5% 177.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% -28.5% 28.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.4% -157.3% 195.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% -28.8% 40.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.9% 6.8% 36.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 0.2% -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -69.9% -81.8% -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.8% -47.4% 20.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUALAALLUV
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 12.2% 5.0% 9.4%
Operating margin 7.5% 1.7% 4.4%
Pretax margin 6.9% -0.6% 4.3%
Net margin 5.5% -0.6% 3.3%
FCF margin 1.7% 0.5% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 7.5% 8.7%
Return on equity 20.8% – 14.6%
Return on assets 4.2% -0.5% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 3.6% 8.2%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 2.7% 8.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x -13.4x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUALAALLUV
Debt / assets 31.0% 45.0% 19.3%
Debt / equity 1.5x -7.3x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 7.6x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 23.7x 101.5x -13.1x
Liabilities / assets 79.1% 106.2% 76.0%
Equity / assets 20.9% -6.2% 24.0%
Interest coverage 3.6x 0.6x 5.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.5x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.36 0.64 2.20

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUALAALLUV
Dividend yield – – 1.7%
Net buyback yield – – 6.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 7.8%
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.

ConsensusUALAALLUV
Forward P/E 12.5xFY2026 – 15.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.85FY2026 $-0.99FY2026 $2.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -26.1%FY2026 -375.0%FY2026 +186.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +68.2% – +62.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $66.26BFY2026 $59.52BFY2026 $31.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.3% +7.1% +15.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUALAALLUV
Held by institutions 89.6% 78.0% 92.9%
Institutions holding 1,066 578 930
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% +16.5% +4.4%
Institutions buying 568 276 476
Institutions selling 341 182 280
Buyers to sellers 1.67 1.52 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.

UALAALLUV
UAL 1.00 0.84 0.72
AAL 0.84 1.00 0.75
LUV 0.72 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UAL, AAL and LUV?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $32.72B, American Airlines (AAL) $8.09B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B.

Which stock is cheaper, UAL, AAL and LUV?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 9.1x, American Airlines (AAL) -24.8x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is cheapest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 12.5x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x). 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: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%, American Airlines (AAL) +7.5%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) has the highest net margin (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%, American Airlines (AAL) -0.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) leads (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%, American Airlines (AAL) 3.6%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +2.4%, American Airlines (AAL) -5.2%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.0%/yr, American Airlines (AAL) -8.8%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been the steadiest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.1%, American Airlines (AAL) 47.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, UAL, AAL 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, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 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.