Sifting through countless of stocks in the Passenger Airlines industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Santiago (Chile), Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,314 aircraft. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in the United States, Canada, Atlantic, the Pacific, and Latin America. It transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. The company also offers ground handling, flight academy, frequent flyer award non-travel redemptions, and maintenance services for third parties. In addition, it provides freight and mail transportation services to commercial businesses, freight forwarders, logistics firms, and national postal services, as well as loyalty programs. The company distributes its products through direct channels, such as the Company's website and the Company's mobile app; and traditional travel agencies, online travel agencies, and other intermediaries. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Latest Passenger Airlines and Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Stock News

As of May 20, 2026, Delta Air Lines, Inc. had a $48.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Passenger Airlines median of $4.0 million. Delta Air Lines, Inc.’s stock is up 5.6% in 2026, up 2.5% in the previous five trading days and up 44.79% in the past year.

Currently, Delta Air Lines, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.8. Delta Air Lines, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $65.2 billion with a 6.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.9%. There are no analysts providing consensus earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. Delta Air Lines, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

As of May 20, 2026, United Airlines Holdings, Inc. had a $31.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 90th percentile of all stocks. United Airlines Holdings, Inc.’s stock is down 14.1% in 2026, NA 0% in the previous five trading days and up 24.68% in the past year.

Currently, United Airlines Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 8.7. United Airlines Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $60.5 billion with a 6.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.143 per share for the current fiscal year. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Delta Air Lines, Inc.	DAL	B
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	UAL	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Delta Air Lines, Inc.	DAL	B
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	UAL	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a Quality Score of 62, which is Strong. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Delta Air Lines, Inc.	DAL	D
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	UAL	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 39, which is Negative. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 32, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Delta Air Lines, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Estimate Revisions Score of 39 and Quality Score of 62.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Estimate Revisions Score of 32 and Quality Score of 69.

Comparing Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Airlines Holdings and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.