Air China (OTCMKTS:AIRYY) versus Copa (NYSE:CPA) Critical Contrast

Copa (NYSE:CPA) and Air China (OTCMKTS:AIRYY) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Copa and Air China”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Copa	$3.44 billion	1.45	$608.11 million	$16.08	7.57
Air China	$23.19 billion	0.64	-$32.35 million	$0.02	892.50

Copa has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Air China. Copa 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 Copa and Air China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Copa	18.83%	26.39%	11.19%
Air China	0.19%	0.79%	0.09%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Copa and Air China, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Copa	0	1	8	1	3.00
Air China	0	0	0	0	0.00

Copa presently has a consensus target price of $159.43, indicating a potential upside of 31.05%. Given Copa’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Copa is more favorable than Air China.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

70.1% of Copa shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Copa has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air China has a beta of -0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 109% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Copa beats Air China on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 375 daily scheduled flights to 82 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 106 aircraft comprising 76 Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, and one Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Panama City, Panama.

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.