AAL vs UAL: Correlation
How closely do American Airlines Group, Inc. (AAL) and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.78, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AAL and UAL?
On 3 years of weekly data the AAL/UAL correlation comes out at 0.78, strong. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.85) sits close to the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.84, and annualized covariance runs at 1647.5 %².
Few assets follow AAL as closely as UAL, which ranks #2 of 22 tracked partners. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +4.5% for AAL and +7.8% for UAL.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
AAL vs UAL: side by side
| AAL (American Airlines Group, Inc.) | UAL (United Airlines Holdings) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.5% | +7.8% |
| 5-year return | -29.7% | +144.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 45.3% | 46.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.29 | 1.33 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -51.4% | -49.2% |
| Market cap | $9.1B | $36.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 10.8 |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Industrials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AAL | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -29.2% | -13.9% |
| 2023 | +8.0% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +26.9% | +135.3% |
| 2025 | -12.0% | +15.2% |
| 2026 | -10.5% | +0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AAL and UAL good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.78 means AAL and UAL share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AAL and UAL?
The AAL/UAL correlation stands at 0.78 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.85, 5 years: 0.84), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is UAL a good diversifier for AAL?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.78 means AAL and UAL share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.78 mean?
A reading of 0.78 sits on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (identical moves). Correlation captures direction, not magnitude or performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/aal-vs-ual.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/aal-vs-ual/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AAL correlations · UAL correlations
