American Airlines Group, Inc. AAL

Competitive advantage analysis · industrials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
46/100
Developing

Ranked against 19 peers in Airlines

About American Airlines Group, Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a network air carrier in the United States, Latin America, Atlantic, and Pacific. The company provides scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo through its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C., as well as through partner gateways in London, Doha, … Full AAL analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.82), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.

Key risks

  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.30), raising refinancing risk.
  • Weak or Negative Cash Flow Cash generation is weak (score 0.35), limiting financial flexibility.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
62
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where AAL ranks in Airlines

American Airlines Group, Inc. ranks #11 of 20 scored companies in Airlines by moat score — the top 55%. The widest moat in the group is SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) at 72/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
7 United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL 59/100 Moderate
8 Azul S.A. AZUL 56/100 Moderate
9 Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK 53/100 Moderate
10 Southwest Airlines Company LUV 52/100 Moderate
11 American Airlines Group, Inc. AAL 46/100 Developing
12 Controladora Vuela Compania de VLRS 46/100 Developing
13 JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU 43/100 Developing
14 Allegiant Travel Company ALGT 38/100 Developing
15 Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. ULCC 35/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How AAL scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 62 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 57 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 29 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 36 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 34 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 55 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding AAL's moat

What is American Airlines Group, Inc.'s moat score?

American Airlines Group, Inc. (AAL) scores 46 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #11 of 20 scored companies in Airlines, the top 55%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 19 companies in Airlines. Its strongest defense is Pricing Power (62/100) and its weakest is Customer Stickiness (29/100).

How does American Airlines Group, Inc. compare with other Airlines companies?

American Airlines Group, Inc. ranks #11 of 20 scored companies in Airlines by moat score. The widest moat in Airlines is SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) at 72/100. The companies ranked closest are Southwest Airlines Company (LUV) at 52 just above it and Controladora Vuela Compania de (VLRS) at 46 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 19 companies in Airlines. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is American Airlines Group, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for American Airlines Group, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and AAL scores: Pricing Power (62), Cost Advantage (57), Customer Stickiness (29), Capital Efficiency (36), Resilience (34), Scale & Market Position (55). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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