Comparing Air China (OTCMKTS:AIRYY) and Deutsche Lufthansa (OTCMKTS:DLAKY)

Deutsche Lufthansa (OTCMKTS:DLAKY) and Air China (OTCMKTS:AIRYY) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Deutsche Lufthansa has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air China has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Deutsche Lufthansa and Air China, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Deutsche Lufthansa	1	3	0	1	2.20
Air China	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Deutsche Lufthansa and Air China”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Deutsche Lufthansa	$40.67 billion	0.25	$1.49 billion	$1.67	5.04
Air China	$23.19 billion	0.54	-$32.35 million	$0.14	108.00

Deutsche Lufthansa has higher revenue and earnings than Air China. Deutsche Lufthansa is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Air China, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Deutsche Lufthansa and Air China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Deutsche Lufthansa	4.76%	17.19%	3.86%
Air China	0.47%	2.03%	0.23%

Summary

Deutsche Lufthansa beats Air China on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Deutsche Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG operates as an aviation company worldwide. It operates in three segments: Passenger Airlines; Logistics; and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Services (MRO). The Passenger Airlines segment offers products and services to passengers of Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. Its Logistics segment offers airfreight container management, urgent shipments, and customs clearance services; and e-commerce solutions. The MRO segment provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for civil commercial aircraft serving original equipment manufacturers, aircraft leasing companies, operators of VIP jets, government, armed forces, and airlines. The company also offers corporate payment and billing services; vocational and professional training for cockpit and cabin crew; and IT solutions. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 721 aircraft. Deutsche Lufthansa AG was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany.

About Air China

Air China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides air passenger, air cargo, and airline-related services in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, China, and internationally. The company operates in Airline Operations and Other Operations segments. It provides aircraft engineering and airport ground handling services. The company is also involved in the import and export trading activities; and provision of cabin, airline catering, air ticketing, human resources, aircraft overhaul and maintenance, and financial services. Air China Limited was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.