UAL vs LUV vs RYAAY Stock Comparison

United Airlines Holdings, Southwest Airlines and Ryanair Holdings Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$43.46 +2.3% 1M +42.8% 1Y
Market cap
$22.74B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
2 wins
RYAAY Ryanair Holdings Plc
$54.60 -0.8% 1M -16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$31.14B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.33B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ryanair Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ryanair Holdings 5, United Airlines Holdings 4, Southwest Airlines 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUALLUVRYAAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $37.69B $22.74B $31.14B UAL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 10.5x 21.6x 16.7x UAL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.2x 16.7x 15.3x UAL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.3% +14.5% +8.5% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.5% 3.3% 10.2% RYAAY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 8.2% 14.8% RYAAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 0.8x -0.6x RYAAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.5% +42.8% -16.0% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.9%/yr -2.4%/yr +2.6%/yr UAL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 48.2% 43.5% 36.4% RYAAY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 57/100 57/100 RYAAY

Percentile Scorecard

UALLUVRYAAY

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

AxisUALLUVRYAAY
Valuation 74 #36 of 137 48 #72 of 137 61 #54 of 137
Growth 52 #62 of 127 85 #20 of 127 26 #94 of 127
Profitability 51 #62 of 125 43 #72 of 125 77 #29 of 125
Financial Health 22 #115 of 147 32 #101 of 147 78 #33 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 76 #22 of 87 42 #51 of 87
Overall 50 57 57
  • UAL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RYAAY ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodUALLUVRYAAYSPY
1 month -4.7%+2.3%-0.8% -2.0%
3 months -19.2%-10.7%-9.3% -2.2%
6 months +14.5%+9.4%+0.3% +4.2%
Year to date -4.1%+5.2%-24.4% +10.6%
1 year +11.5%+42.8%-16.0% +10.4%
3 years +185.8%+83.4%+44.7% +73.6%
3 years, per year +41.9%+22.4%+13.1% +20.2%
5 years +118.2%-11.4%+13.5% +61.6%
5 years, per year +16.9%-2.4%+2.6% +10.1%
10 years +91.7%+9.5%+79.3% +261.3%
10 years, per year +6.7%+0.9%+6.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureUALLUVRYAAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 48.2%43.5%36.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.6%38.2%35.4% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.171.591.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.240.98-0.44 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.2%-57.4%-54.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.2%-20.7%-26.0% -3.2%
52-week high $136.11$54.80$73.82 $779.14
52-week low $85.21$29.67$51.33 $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.

MultipleUALLUVRYAAY
P/E now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 15.1x 20.2xmedian 15.1x 15.5xmedian 15.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.0x 0.7xmedian 1.0x 1.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 8.2x 8.0xmedian 8.2x 6.6xmedian 8.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.2xmedian 12.7x -47.4xmedian 12.7x 21.7xmedian 12.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 1.2x 2.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.18median 0.68 0.50median 0.68 -2.03median 0.68

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 monthsUALLUVRYAAY
Revenue $65.55B $31.55B $18.33B
Operating income $4.92B $1.39B $2.19B
Net income $3.58B $1.05B $2.05B
Free cash flow $1.12B -$449.00M $1.31B
EPS (diluted) $10.93 $2.13 $3.50
Cash & equivalents $6.65B $3.62B $2.86B
Total debt $26.40B $5.89B $497.18M
Shares (diluted) 327.40M 494.00M 532.20M
Enterprise value -$20.00B $8.77B $15.41B

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
MetricUALLUVRYAAY
P/E 9.7x 20.2x 15.5x
P/FCF 31.2x -47.4x 21.7x
P/Operating cash flow 4.3x 7.7x 7.8x
P/S 0.5x 0.7x 1.6x
P/B 2.0x 2.9x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 2.9x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 5.8x 8.0x 6.6x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 17.0x 11.9x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 41.7x -52.4x 19.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.7x 8.5x 7.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.18 0.50 -2.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUALLUVRYAAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.3% 14.5% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 7.4% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.9% 339.7% -22.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 78.6% -3.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.6% 177.8% -25.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 28.4% -5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.4% 195.8% -35.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 40.0% -7.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.9% 36.2% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -6.0% -3.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -69.9% -35.2% -58.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.8% 20.2% -23.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUALLUVRYAAY
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 12.2% 9.4% 21.5%
Operating margin 7.5% 4.4% 12.0%
Pretax margin 6.9% 4.3% 12.3%
Net margin 5.5% 3.3% 10.2%
FCF margin 1.7% -1.4% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 8.7% 19.9%
Return on equity 20.8% 14.6% 15.5%
Return on assets 4.2% 3.5% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 8.2% 14.8%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 8.3% 15.2%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.6x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUALLUVRYAAY
Debt / assets 31.0% 19.3% 2.4%
Debt / equity 1.5x 0.8x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 0.8x -0.6x
Debt / FCF 23.7x -13.1x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 79.1% 76.0% 37.6%
Equity / assets 20.9% 24.0% 62.4%
Interest coverage 3.6x 5.9x –
Current ratio 0.8x 0.5x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.38 2.22 4.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUALLUVRYAAY
Dividend yield – 1.7% 2.5%
Net buyback yield – 5.8% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 7.5% 2.5%
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.

ConsensusUALLUVRYAAY
Forward P/E 15.2xFY2026 16.7xFY2026 15.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.04FY2026 $2.60FY2026 $3.58FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -33.7%FY2026 +179.6%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +75.0% +58.8% -6.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $66.54BFY2026 $31.34BFY2026 $18.47BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.5% +16.7% 0.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUALLUVRYAAY
Held by institutions 89.6% 92.9% 39.9%
Institutions holding 1,070 933 412
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% +4.4% -0.8%
Institutions buying 570 477 192
Institutions selling 343 282 149
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.69 1.29

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.

UALLUVRYAAY
UAL 1.00 0.72 0.61
LUV 0.72 1.00 0.61
RYAAY 0.61 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UAL, LUV and RYAAY?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is the largest by market capitalisation: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) $37.69B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $22.74B, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) $31.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, UAL, LUV and RYAAY?

United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 10.5x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 21.6x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 16.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is cheapest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 15.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 16.7x, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 15.3x). 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%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has the highest net margin (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 5.5%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 10.2%). On return on invested capital, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) leads (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 8.9%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 14.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +11.5%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +42.8%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -16.0%. Over five years, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) compounded fastest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) +16.9%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.4%/yr, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) +2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) has been the steadiest (United Airlines Holdings (UAL) 48.2%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.5%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) 36.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.