DAL vs. ZTO: Delta Air Lines vs. ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Delta Air Lines (DAL) and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) both fall under the Transportation industry group, but DAL is classified in Passenger Airlines while ZTO is classified in Air Freight & Logistics.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) trades as ordinary local shares, while ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) reports a negative beta of -0.18, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Delta Air Lines (DAL) has a non-negative beta of 1.37.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 15.91% and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 16.28% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 4.58% and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 19.04% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 7.22% and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 22.19% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 10.88% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 2.79% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ZTO.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 43.71% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 4.58% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for DAL.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 1.67 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.40 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.89 and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 0.35 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.94% pays an industry-typical yield; ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 12.89% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 15.52% and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 38.36% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 17.41 and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 11.37 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 0.29 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.80 prices around its industry’s middle — ZTO costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

On P/B ratio, both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 2.53 and ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) at 1.66 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

Valuation Metrics