CP vs. UAL: Canadian Pacific Kansas City vs. United Airlines Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL) both fall under the Transportation industry group, but CP is classified in Ground Transportation while UAL is classified in Passenger Airlines.

Company profile comparison for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Profile Item	CP	UAL
Name	Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.	United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Country/Region	Canada	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Transportation	Transportation
GICS Industry	Ground Transportation	Passenger Airlines
GICS Sub-Industry	Rail Transportation	Passenger Airlines
Market Capitalization	80.15 billion USD	36.63 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 30, 1983	February 6, 2006
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

UAL

GSPC

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Total Return (1Y)	32.98%	22.35%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.54%	47.27%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	4.57%	17.68%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

UAL

GSPC

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.89%	48.88%
Beta (5Y)	1.02	1.32
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-25.88%	-49.19%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.24M	4.24M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CP and UAL are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.25	0.37
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.93	0.59

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

United Airlines (UAL) at 22.31% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 8.27% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UAL.

CP

Transportation industry group

8.27%

Max: 45.08%
Q3: 22.02%
Median: 13.94%
CP: 8.27%
Q1: 2.89%
Min: -10.45%

UAL

Transportation industry group

22.31%

Max: 45.08%
UAL: 22.31%
Q3: 22.02%
Median: 13.94%
Q1: 2.89%
Min: -10.45%

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their ROE against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 24.14% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of United Airlines (UAL) at 5.46%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CP

Transportation industry group

24.14%

Max: 50.36%
CP: 24.14%
Q3: 21.18%
Median: 5.58%
Q1: 1.55%
Min: -11.37%

UAL

Transportation industry group

5.46%

Max: 50.36%
Q3: 21.18%
Median: 5.58%
UAL: 5.46%
Q1: 1.55%
Min: -11.37%

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their net margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 38.56% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of United Airlines (UAL) at 7.03%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CP

Transportation industry group

38.56%

Max: 59.18%
CP: 38.56%
Q3: 29.30%
Median: 11.50%
Q1: 4.62%
Min: -8.91%

UAL

Transportation industry group

7.03%

Max: 59.18%
Q3: 29.30%
Median: 11.50%
UAL: 7.03%
Q1: 4.62%
Min: -8.91%

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their operating margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
ROE (TTM)	8.27%	22.31%
ROA (TTM)	4.52%	3.31%
Net Margin (TTM)	24.14%	5.46%
Operating Margin (TTM)	38.56%	7.03%
Gross Margin (TTM)	52.76%	30.87%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 3.66% and United Airlines (UAL) at 3.52% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 13.32% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while United Airlines (UAL) at 7.94% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for CP.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.66%	3.52%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.60%	9.53%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.32%	7.94%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.16%	66.00%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 0.52 and United Airlines (UAL) at 0.75 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CP

Transportation industry group

0.52

Max: 2.58
Q3: 1.62
Median: 1.16
Q1: 0.78
CP: 0.52
Min: 0.22

UAL

Transportation industry group

0.75

Max: 2.58
Q3: 1.62
Median: 1.16
Q1: 0.78
UAL: 0.75
Min: 0.22

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their current ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 0.55 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while United Airlines (UAL) at 1.93 uses more debt funding than most peers.

CP

Transportation industry group

0.55

Max: 2.75
Q3: 1.37
Median: 0.78
CP: 0.55
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

UAL

Transportation industry group

1.93

Max: 2.75
UAL: 1.93
Q3: 1.37
Median: 0.78
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.52	0.75
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.55	1.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.01	2.79

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

United Airlines (UAL) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) reports a yield of 1.06%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CP

Transportation industry group

1.06%

Max: 4.68%
Q3: 1.99%
CP: 1.06%
Median: 0.74%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UAL

Transportation industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.68%
Q3: 1.99%
Median: 0.74%
UAL: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

United Airlines (UAL) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) reports a payout of 22.91%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CP

Transportation industry group

22.91%

Max: 100.89%
Q3: 41.68%
CP: 22.91%
Median: 20.43%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

UAL

Transportation industry group

0.00%

Max: 100.89%
Q3: 41.68%
Median: 20.43%
UAL: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.06%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	22.91%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

United Airlines (UAL) at 10.32 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 29.54 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for UAL, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

CP

Transportation industry group

29.54

Max: 46.76
Q3: 30.87
CP: 29.54
Median: 20.58
Q1: 10.44
Min: 0.00

UAL

Transportation industry group

10.32

Max: 46.76
Q3: 30.87
Median: 20.58
Q1: 10.44
UAL: 10.32
Min: 0.00

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

United Airlines (UAL) at 0.56 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 5.01 clears its benchmark range — CP looks notably rich on sales.

CP

Transportation industry group

5.01

CP: 5.01
Max: 4.35
Q3: 2.07
Median: 0.93
Q1: 0.53
Min: 0.04

UAL

Transportation industry group

0.56

Max: 4.35
Q3: 2.07
Median: 0.93
UAL: 0.56
Q1: 0.53
Min: 0.04

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) at 2.46 and United Airlines (UAL) at 2.06 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CP

Transportation industry group

2.46

Max: 6.29
Q3: 3.39
CP: 2.46
Median: 1.90
Q1: 1.03
Min: -2.07

UAL

Transportation industry group

2.06

Max: 6.29
Q3: 3.39
UAL: 2.06
Median: 1.90
Q1: 1.03
Min: -2.07

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) vs. United Airlines (UAL): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and United Airlines (UAL)
Metric	CP	UAL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	29.54	10.32
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.01	0.56
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.46	2.06
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.42%	-1.57%