Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LUV scored 35.3, UAL scored 60.9 — UAL leads.
Compare another set
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
35.3
$41.66 · $20.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
25.6
UAL leads
UAL
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
60.9
$107.45 · $34.9B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthUAL+8.5%
Strongest balance sheetLUV0.97
Highest qualityUAL59 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
LUV
stronger →← stronger
UAL
52
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
59
33
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
26
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
77
UAL is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LUV
UAL
-$455mF
FCF
$2.5bB
+2.1%C
Rev
+8.5%B
0.97C+
D/E
2.02C
0.7xA
P/S
—
0.20A
PEG
6.50D
—
P/E
10.1xA
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
LUV
UAL
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
0% above
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~7%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
-8%
—
5-yr DCF upside
0%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+11%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LUV
Why this score
Buying back stock
UAL
Why this score
Cyclical growth
The companies
LUVSouthwest Airlines Co.
Airlines · $41.66 · beta 1.16
Why now
Airlines · market cap $20.4b. Down 24% from 52-week high of $55.11 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.20 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $49.22 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
ROE 11% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$455m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Net margin 2.8% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
UALUnited Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Airlines · $107.45 · beta 1.30
Why now
Airlines · market cap $34.9b. Down 23% from 52-week high of $138.77 — deep drawdown territory. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $152.78 (implying +42% upside).
Moat
ROE 21% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
D/E 2.02 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
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 LUV and UAL diverge
On the headline score the gap is 25.6 points in favor of UAL. The widest single difference is Value, where UAL leads by 51.0 points.
ValueLUV 25.7 · UAL 76.7UAL +51.0
GrowthLUV 32.6 · UAL 50.0UAL +17.4
QualityLUV 52.4 · UAL 59.0UAL +6.6
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 UAL or LUV the better stock?
UAL scores higher: UAL 60.9, LUV 35.3 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 UAL and LUV differ most?
The widest gap is value, where UAL leads by 51 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. UAL leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are UAL and LUV 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.