Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ALK scored 19.1, SKYW scored 68.4 — SKYW leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. SKYW's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but ALK's are as of March 2026 — a 3-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
ALK
Alaska Air Group, Inc.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
19.1
$39.36 · $4.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
49.3
SKYW leads
SKYW
SkyWest, Inc.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
68.4
$96.52 · $3.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthALK+21.3%
Strongest balance sheetSKYW0.86
Highest qualitySKYW71 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueSKYW-69%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ALK
stronger →← stronger
SKYW
26
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
71
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
5
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
91
SKYW is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ALK
SKYW
-$477mF
FCF
$909mC+
+21.3%A-
Rev
+9.1%B
2.08D
D/E
0.86C+
0.3xA
P/S
—
1.20B+
PEG
1.66C+
—
P/E
9.6xA
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ALK
SKYW
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
69% below
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-20%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
+187%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+224%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+284%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ALK
Why this score
Buying back stock
Cyclical growth
SKYW
Why this score
Buying back stock
Cyclical growth
The companies
ALKAlaska Air Group, Inc.
Airlines · $39.36 · beta 1.33
Why now
Airlines · market cap $4.4b. Down 35% from 52-week high of $60.63 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +21%, comfortably above the S&P median. 16 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $55.25 (implying +40% upside).
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
D/E 2.08 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Free cash flow is negative (-$477m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Currently unprofitable (margin -1.2%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk.
SKYWSkyWest, Inc.
Airlines · $96.52 · beta 1.48
Why now
Airlines · market cap $3.7b. 18% off the 52-week high of $117.72. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $125.33 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
ROE 15% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income.
Risk
Beta 1.48 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ALK and SKYW diverge
On the headline score the gap is 49.3 points in favor of SKYW. The widest single difference is Value, where SKYW leads by 85.5 points.
ValueALK 5.4 · SKYW 90.9SKYW +85.5
QualityALK 25.9 · SKYW 70.5SKYW +44.6
GrowthALK 50.0 · SKYW 50.0level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is SKYW or ALK the better stock?
SKYW scores higher: SKYW 68.4, ALK 19.1 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do SKYW and ALK differ most?
The widest gap is value, where SKYW leads by 86 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. SKYW also leads quality, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are SKYW and ALK scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.