Better Buy: Delta Air Lines vs. Southwest Airlines
It would be a mammoth understatement to say that the past two months have been challenging for airline stocks. America's two largest airlines by market capitalization, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) have watched their share prices tumble as the number of people traveling by air has dropped precipitously. According to the Transportation Security Administration, daily U.S. passenger numbers have fallen to less than 5% of their levels a year ago.
Yet while the S&P 500 has regained 13% in April due to optimism that U.S. companies broadly will be able to survive and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shares of Southwest and Delta have sunk back down to near their 5-year lows.
Strong fundamentals and customer loyalty make Southwest and Delta, in my opinion, the two best U.S. airlines. And given the unprecedented predicament airlines find themselves in, it's worth taking a closer look at whether either can survive this crisis, and if so, which one is better positioned for a comeback.
Source Fool.com
