DAL vs UAL
Delta AIR Lines, Inc. and United Airlines Holdings, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | DAL | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $63.4B | $59.1B |
| Net income | $5.0B | $3.4B |
| Gross margin | · | · |
| Net margin | 7.9% | 5.7% |
| Return on equity | 27.7% | 24.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $7.66 | $10.20 |
| Dividend / share | $0.68 | · |
| Payout ratio | 8.8% | · |
| Free cash flow | $3.8B | $2.6B |
| Equity | $20.9B | $15.3B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.43× | 1.00× |
| Current ratio | 0.40× | 0.65× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 30.0% | 30.9% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | · |
DAL and UAL book revenue within 15% of each other, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (7.9% against 5.7%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | DAL | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $63.4B | $59.1B |
| FY2024 | $61.6B | $57.1B |
| FY2023 | $58.0B | $53.7B |
| FY2022 | $50.6B | $45.0B |
| FY2021 | $29.9B | $24.6B |
| FY2020 | $17.1B | $15.4B |
| FY2019 | $47.0B | $43.3B |
| FY2018 | $44.4B | $41.3B |
| FY2017 | $41.1B | $37.8B |
| FY2016 | $39.5B | $36.6B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | DAL | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $5.0B | $3.4B |
| FY2024 | $3.5B | $3.1B |
| FY2023 | $4.6B | $2.6B |
| FY2022 | $1.3B | $737.0M |
| FY2021 | $280.0M | $-2.0B |
| FY2020 | $-12.4B | $-7.1B |
| FY2019 | $4.8B | $3.0B |
| FY2018 | $3.9B | $2.1B |
| FY2017 | $3.2B | $2.1B |
| FY2016 | $4.2B | $2.2B |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$4,294,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2024 | +$4,580,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2023 | +$4,331,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2022 | +$5,627,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2021 | +$5,265,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2020 | +$1,740,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2019 | +$3,748,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2018 | +$3,135,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2017 | +$3,354,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2016 | +$2,892,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2015 | +$2,840,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2014 | +$1,461,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2013 | −$506,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2012 | −$482,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2011 | −$1,995,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2010 | +$8,430,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2009 | +$11,728,000,000 | DAL |
| FY2008 | +$2,503,000,000 | DAL |
The higher-revenue side has changed between DAL and UAL over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +2.2 pp | DAL |
| FY2024 | +0.1 pp | DAL |
| FY2023 | +3.1 pp | DAL |
| FY2022 | +1.0 pp | DAL |
| FY2021 | +8.9 pp | DAL |
| FY2020 | −26.4 pp | UAL |
| FY2019 | +3.2 pp | DAL |
| FY2018 | +3.7 pp | DAL |
| FY2017 | +2.1 pp | DAL |
| FY2016 | +4.5 pp | DAL |
| FY2015 | −8.3 pp | UAL |
| FY2014 | −1.3 pp | UAL |
| FY2013 | +26.4 pp | DAL |
| FY2012 | +4.7 pp | DAL |
| FY2011 | +0.2 pp | DAL |
| FY2010 | +0.8 pp | DAL |
| FY2009 | −0.4 pp | UAL |
| FY2008 | −12.6 pp | UAL |
The higher net margin has changed hands between DAL and UAL over this period.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DAL's net margin has been more volatile than UAL's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 21.4 percentage points of standard deviation against 14.0.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between DAL and UAL over these 18 fiscal years — DAL led in 13 and UAL in 5.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DAL's return on equity has been more volatile than UAL's over the 12 comparable fiscal years — 50.1 percentage points of standard deviation against 46.6.
12 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between DAL and UAL over these 12 fiscal years — DAL led in 8 and UAL in 4.
12 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.