Which Is a Better Investment, Air France KLM SA (ADR) or Alaska Air Group, Inc. Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 02, 2026
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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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA 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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA

Alaska Air Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Regional. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo; and Horizon's and other third-party carriers scheduled air transportation services. It operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, the Bahamas, the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Alaska Air Group, Inc. was founded in 1932 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Air France-KLM SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo transportation services. The company operates through Network, Maintenance, Transavia, and Other segments. It also offers airframe and engine maintenance, and component support services, including electronic, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other services. The company provides its services under the Air France, KLM, and Transavia brand names. It operates in France, rest of Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean, West Indies, French Guyana, Indian Ocean, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Mexico, French Polynesia, South America, Asia, and New Caledonia. Air France-KLM SA was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Air France-KLM SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo transportation services. The company operates through Network, Maintenance, Transavia, and Other segments. It also offers airframe and engine maintenance, and component support services, including electronic, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other services. The company provides its services under the Air France, KLM, and Transavia brand names. It operates in France, rest of Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean, West Indies, French Guyana, Indian Ocean, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Mexico, French Polynesia, South America, Asia, and New Caledonia. Air France-KLM SA was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Latest Passenger Airlines and Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Alaska Air Group, Inc. had a $4.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Passenger Airlines median of $5.1 million. Alaska Air Group, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and down 35.19% in the past year.

Currently, Alaska Air Group, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Alaska Air Group, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.8 billion with a -1.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-1.662 per share for the current fiscal year. Alaska Air Group, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

Currently, Air France-KLM SA does not have a price-earnings ratio. Air France-KLM SA’s trailing 12-month revenue is $39.0 billion with a 3.4% net profit margin. As of September 1, 2026, Air France-KLM SA has not reported significant year-over-year quarterly sales. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.428 per share for the current fiscal year. Air France-KLM SA does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA 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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK B
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY C
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY C

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.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong. Air France-KLM SA has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average. Air France-KLM SA has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Alaska Air Group, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Air France-KLM SA. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Alaska Air Group, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK C
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY C
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY C

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.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a Quality Score of 43, which is Average. Air France-KLM SA has a Quality Score of 60, which is Average. Air France-KLM SA has a Quality Score of 60, which is Average.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are 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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK D
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY D
Air France-KLM SA AFLYY D

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 22, which is Weak. Air France-KLM SA has a Momentum Score of 27, which is Weak. Air France-KLM SA has a Momentum Score of 27, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA has a strong enough Momentum Grade to 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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

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Other Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA Grades

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

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

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 Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA or Air France-KLM SA Stock?

Overall, Alaska Air Group, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Momentum Score of 22 and Quality Score of 43.

Air France-KLM SA stock has a Growth Score of 59, Momentum Score of 27 and Quality Score of 60.

Air France-KLM SA stock has a Growth Score of 59, Momentum Score of 27 and Quality Score of 60.

Comparing Alaska Air Group, Inc., Air France-KLM SA and Air France-KLM SA’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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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