AXP vs UAL: Correlation
How closely do American Express (AXP) and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.54, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AXP and UAL?
Over the past 3 years, AXP and UAL moved with a correlation of 0.54, which is moderate. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.42) runs below the 3-year figure (0.54). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.58, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 672.2 %².
Within AXP's tracked universe of 35 assets, UAL comes in at #19 by 3-year correlation. Their 12-month results are close: +4.7% for AXP against +7.8% for UAL. Across three years, the rolling one-year figure varied moderately, from 0.36 to 0.69. Note the risk asymmetry: UAL runs 1.8 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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.
AXP vs UAL: side by side
| AXP (American Express) | UAL (United Airlines Holdings) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.7% | +7.8% |
| 5-year return | +116.2% | +144.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 26.6% | 46.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.20 | 1.33 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -28.8% | -49.2% |
| Market cap | $225.7B | $36.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | 20.4 | 10.8 |
| Dividend yield | 1.05% | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | Financials | Industrials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AXP | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -8.5% | -13.9% |
| 2023 | +28.7% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +60.3% | +135.3% |
| 2025 | +26.0% | +15.2% |
| 2026 | -8.9% | +0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AXP and UAL good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.54 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AXP and UAL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between AXP and UAL is 0.54 over 3 years, 0.42 over 1 year and 0.58 over 5 years.
Is UAL a good diversifier for AXP?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.54 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.54 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.54 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/axp-vs-ual.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/axp-vs-ual/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AXP correlations · UAL correlations
