UAL vs LUV Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare United and Southwest by premium cabin revenue growth, international vs domestic capacity, loyalty program economics, fleet modernization cost, and which airline offers better long-term margin improvement potential.
Use this United Airlines vs Southwest Airlines comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
UAL holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. LUV has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+35.54% vs +31.81%), though UAL has the better forward P/E setup (7.51x vs 9.86x for LUV). UAL leads on both revenue growth (16.00%) and operating margin (5.53%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for UAL (+37.52%) than for LUV (+8.89%).
| Metric | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 43.6 | 42.5 |
| AI rank | #849 | #911 |
| Latest close | $118.27 | $45.08 |
| 1M return | -9.40% | -11.50% |
| 6M return | +9.77% | +7.46% |
| 1Y return | +31.81% | +35.54% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.98K (+29.8%) started 2025-07-25 | $13.57K (+35.7%) started 2025-07-25 |
| 5Y ago | $23.91K (+139.1%) started 2021-07-26 | $9.76K (-2.4%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $25.22K (+152.2%) started 2016-07-25 | $14.74K (+47.4%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $37.46B | $23.5B |
| Trailing P/E | 10.81 | 32.05 |
| Forward P/E | 7.51 | 9.86 |
| Price/Sales | 0.48 | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 0.87 | 0.92 |
| Analyst target | $158.72 | $52.36 |
| Target upside | +37.52% | +8.89% |
| Metric | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 16.00% | 12.80% |
| Earnings growth | -17.20% | 50.80% |
| EPS growth | -17.20% | +50.80% |
| FCF margin | +1.45% | -1.29% |
| Operating margin | 5.53% | 4.55% |
| Profit margin | 5.56% | 2.83% |
| ROIC proxy | 23.25% | 10.06% |
| Return on equity | 23.25% | 10.06% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 1.50% |
| Beta | 1.26 | 1.12 |
| Debt/equity | 201.64 | 93.03 |
| Current ratio | 0.78 | 0.48 |
| Quick ratio | 0.69 | 0.37 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +29.81% | +35.74% |
| CAGR | +29.91% | +35.87% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.69 | 0.81 | |
| Max drawdown | 27.50% | 33.78% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.70% | 7.74% | |
| Max wkly drop | 18.04% | 15.63% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +139.12% | -7.88% |
| CAGR | +19.06% | -1.63% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.51 | 0.03 | |
| Max drawdown | 49.19% | 58.75% | |
| Max daily drop | 15.61% | 14.86% | |
| Max wkly drop | 29.73% | 22.98% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +152.23% | +33.04% |
| CAGR | +9.70% | +2.90% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.35 | 0.14 | |
| Max drawdown | 79.40% | 64.76% | |
| Max daily drop | 30.29% | 15.11% | |
| Max wkly drop | 56.67% | 23.60% |
| Category | UAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| Company | UAL | LUV |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Airlines | N/A |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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