UAL vs DAL vs AERO Stock Comparison

United Airlines Holdings, Delta Air Lines and Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.
$76.75 -6.1% 1M +30.6% 1Y
Market cap
$51.86B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.80B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Delta Air Lines leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Delta Air Lines 5, United Airlines Holdings 4, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUALDALAEROLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $32.72B $51.86B $2.03B DAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.1x 15.8x 12.8x UAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.5x 13.8x 15.6x UAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.3% +14.1% +8.8% DAL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.5% 4.6% 3.6% UAL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 10.8% — DAL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 1.3x -0.4x AERO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.4% +30.6% — DAL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.0%/yr +14.1%/yr — UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 48.1% 38.6% 53.7% DAL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 39/100 59/100 AERO

Percentile Scorecard

UALDALAERO

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

AxisUALDALAERO
Valuation 74 #36 of 136 67 #45 of 136 98 #4 of 136
Growth 50 #61 of 122 48 #64 of 122 17 #102 of 122
Profitability 49 #61 of 119 48 #62 of 119 56 #53 of 119
Financial Health 21 #116 of 147 22 #115 of 147 66 #51 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 7 #78 of 84 –
Overall 49 39 59
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • DAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • AERO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodUALDALAEROSPY
1 month -11.6%-6.1%-4.2% -1.0%
3 months -17.2%-9.8%+1.0% +2.9%
6 months +5.3%+12.1%+1.1% +6.4%
Year to date -12.4%+10.6%-31.1% +11.4%
1 year +2.4%+30.6%— +13.1%
3 years +178.7%+139.7%— +79.4%
3 years, per year +40.8%+33.9%— +21.5%
5 years +109.6%+93.1%— +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.0%+14.1%— +10.9%
10 years +76.1%+86.4%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +5.8%+6.4%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureUALDALAEROSPY
Volatility, 1Y 48.1%38.6%53.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.9%34.2%56.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.211.701.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.050.79— 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.2%-48.0%-46.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.1%-18.1%-33.9% -2.5%
52-week high $136.11$93.66$22.91 $779.14
52-week low $85.21$55.65$12.36 $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.

MultipleUALDALAERO
P/E now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 16.0x 15.3xmedian 16.0x 13.8xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 8.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x 1.4xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 11.5x 16.7xmedian 11.5x 3.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.2x 2.2xmedian 1.2x -3.7xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 0.82 -8.23median 0.82 —median 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 monthsUALDALAERO
Revenue $65.55B $71.80B $4.40B
Operating income $4.92B $5.29B $635.00M
Net income $3.58B $3.29B $120.00M
Free cash flow $1.12B $3.02B $630.00M
EPS (diluted) $10.93 $4.99 $1.09
Cash & equivalents $6.65B $3.79B $965.00M
Total debt $26.40B $13.95B $5.46B
Shares (diluted) 327.40M 659.00M 145.90M
Enterprise value -$24.97B $34.04B -$2.04B

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
MetricUALDALAERO
P/E 8.9x 15.3x 13.8x
P/FCF 28.5x 16.7x 3.5x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 6.3x 3.5x
P/S 0.5x 0.7x 0.5x
P/B 1.8x 2.2x -3.7x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 3.1x -3.7x
EV/EBITDA 5.5x 7.7x 1.4x
EV/EBIT 8.8x 11.5x 2.7x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.8x 0.4x
EV/FCF 39.0x 20.1x 2.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.3x 7.6x 2.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 -8.23 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUALDALAERO
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.3% 14.1% 8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 7.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.9% -12.9% -2.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% -2.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 8.6% -28.9% -38.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% -1.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 8.4% -29.5% -43.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% -1.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.9% 0.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 4.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -69.9% -1.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.8% 36.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUALDALAERO
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 12.2% 11.0% 27.6%
Operating margin 7.5% 7.4% 14.4%
Pretax margin 6.9% 6.1% 5.5%
Net margin 5.5% 4.6% 3.6%
FCF margin 1.7% 4.2% 14.3%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 11.1% 14.3%
Return on equity 20.8% 14.8% –
Return on assets 4.2% 3.8% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 10.8% –
Return on capital employed 8.5% 10.0% 10.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.4x 5.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUALDALAERO
Debt / assets 31.0% 16.2% 6.4%
Debt / equity 1.5x 0.6x -0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 1.3x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 23.7x 4.6x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 79.1% 73.8% 108.0%
Equity / assets 20.9% 26.2% -8.0%
Interest coverage 3.6x – 5.8x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.4x 2.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.2x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.1x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 1.36 1.48 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUALDALAERO
Dividend yield – 1.0% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 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.

ConsensusUALDALAERO
Forward P/E 12.5xFY2026 13.8xFY2026 15.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.85FY2026 $5.57FY2026 $0.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -26.1%FY2026 -4.3%FY2026 -59.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +68.2% +42.0% +134.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $66.26BFY2026 $70.62BFY2026 $5.71BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +21.2%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.3% -5.3% +15.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUALDALAERO
Held by institutions 89.6% 88.2% 65.1%
Institutions holding 1,066 1,511 75
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% +0.6% -1.5%
Institutions buying 568 815 32
Institutions selling 341 483 17
Buyers to sellers 1.67 1.69 1.88

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.

UALDALAERO
UAL 1.00 0.90 0.53
DAL 0.90 1.00 0.45
AERO 0.53 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UAL, DAL and AERO?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $32.72B, Delta Air Lines (DAL) $51.86B, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) $2.03B.

Which stock is cheaper, UAL, DAL and AERO?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 9.1x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 15.8x, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 12.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is cheapest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 12.5x, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 13.8x, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 15.6x). 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: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +12.3%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) has the highest net margin (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 4.6%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 3.6%). On return on invested capital, Delta Air Lines (DAL) leads (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 10.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Delta Air Lines (DAL) returned the most: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +2.4%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +30.6%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.0%/yr, Delta Air Lines (DAL) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Delta Air Lines (DAL) has been the steadiest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.1%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) 38.6%, Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V (AERO) 53.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, UAL, DAL and AERO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Delta Air Lines (DAL) leads on 5. 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.