American Airlines (AAL) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026)
American Airlines' Return on Sales [ROS] was 0.70% in Q3 2026, down 0.40 percentage points from 1.10% a year earlier and down 1.96 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
American Airlines (AAL) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a trailing twelve-month basis, American Airlines' Return on Sales [ROS] was 1.59% through Sep 30, 2026, down 2.37 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 2.69%, down 2.14 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Sales [ROS] shows a five-year change of +62.79 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In earlier years, Return on Sales [ROS] was 4.82% in FY2024 (-0.93 pp), 5.75% in FY2023 (+2.47 pp), 3.28% in FY2022 (+6.83 pp) and -3.54% in FY2021 (+56.56 pp).
- Quarterly Return on Sales [ROS] has moved between -19.36% (Q1 2022) and 15.39% (Q2 2023) over five years.
- Compared with a year earlier, Return on Sales [ROS] was higher in three of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -1.14 percentage points.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Return on Sales [ROS] over five years was Q4 2021 (a gain of 54.18 percentage points); the worst was Q3 2023 (a drop of 8.56 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, AAL's Return on Sales [ROS] in the three quarters before Q3 2026 was 2.67% (Q2 2026), -0.29% (Q1 2026) and 3.23% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROS (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 172.47 Bn | 164.72 Bn | - | 40.89% |
| 2 | United Parcel Service | 92.24 Bn | 69.07 Bn | - | 7.63% |
| 3 | Csx | 90.81 Bn | 86.03 Bn | - | 39.08% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 81.61 Bn | 80.64 Bn | - | 35.25% |
| 5 | Fedex | 72.98 Bn | 39.17 Bn | - | 6.20% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 71.87 Bn | 66.34 Bn | - | 32.61% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 57.23 Bn | 39.41 Bn | - | 7.20% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 36.65 Bn | -21.05 Bn | - | 8.09% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.12 Bn | 32.96 Bn | - | 28.46% |
| 10 | American Airlines | 8.74 Bn | -16.44 Bn | - | 0.70% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 0.70% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 2.67% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | -0.29% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 3.23% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 1.10% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 7.89% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | -2.15% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 8.30% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 0.65% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 9.66% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 0.06% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 5.02% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | -1.65% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 15.39% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 3.59% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 10.48% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 6.91% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 7.58% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -19.36% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | -8.27% |
API Access
American Airlines Return on Sales [ROS] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=AAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-sales-[ros]", "ticker": "AAL", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=AAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();