ALASKA AIR GROUP, INC. vs United Airlines Holdings, Inc., two Airlines stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
United earns 23.1% on equity flying a global network; Alaska earns 2% mid-way through absorbing Hawaiian, and the returns gap is integration accounting more than operating truth: Alaska's 19.7% free-cash figure against United's 7.2% says the cash economics run opposite the income statement. United trades at 12.2 times earnings with 1.38 turns of debt; Alaska's negative operating margin makes its multiple meaningless this year. Both run tight current ratios, airline working capital as usual. The pair prices a finished network against a merger in progress; United's page is what Alaska's hopes to look like in two years, at roughly the leverage Alaska already carries.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | ALK | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $53.84 | $136.03 |
| Market cap | $6.2B | $44.5B |
| Sector | Airlines | Airlines |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | -0.3% |
| P/E | — | 12.2 |
| P/B | 1.65 | 2.80 |
| P/S | 0.43 | 0.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.8 | 7.3 |
| Revenue growth | +14.6% | +4.9% |
| Operating margin | -8.4% | 6.8% |
| Net margin | 0.5% | 6.1% |
| Return on equity | 2.0% | 23.1% |
| Return on assets | 0.4% | 4.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 1.9% | 10.8% |
| FCF yield | 19.7% | 7.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.7% | — |
| Debt / equity | 1.45 | 1.38 |
| Current ratio | 0.43 | 0.70 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.76 | 6.85 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.