DELTA AIR LINES, INC. vs SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., two Airlines stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where DAL and LUV diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), DAL reads +0.9% and LUV reads -4.4%; on fcf yield, DAL reads 8.7% and LUV reads -2.0%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's DAL price has a different growth bar priced in than LUV (+0.9% implied for DAL vs -4.4% for LUV); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What DAL's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (segment-resolved basis). What LUV's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | DAL | LUV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $85.05 | $45.08 |
| Market cap | $56.0B | $22.2B |
| Sector | Airlines | Airlines |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +0.9% | -4.4% |
| P/E | 14.1 | 28.5 |
| P/B | 2.57 | 3.14 |
| P/S | 0.82 | 0.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.3 | 8.5 |
| Revenue growth | +10.2% | +9.4% |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | 3.4% |
| Net margin | 6.7% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 21.0% | 11.8% |
| Return on assets | 5.3% | 2.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 11.7% | 7.3% |
| FCF yield | 8.7% | -2.0% |
| Dividend yield | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.72 | 0.54 |
| Current ratio | 0.42 | 0.49 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.82 | 7.53 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 8 / 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.