23 U.S. public companies · NYU Stern “Air Transport” · January 2026
Industry data: Damodaran, NYU Stern, January 2026 · sale multiple: BizBuySell, Q2 2026. An estimate, not an appraisal.
| Measure | Airline | Typical industry | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 24.8% | 36.9% | Revenue left after the direct cost of what is sold |
| EBITDA margin | 10.3% | 15.7% | Profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization |
| Operating margin | 5.3% | 12.1% | Profit from operations, before interest and tax |
| Net margin | 2.5% | 7.3% | Profit after every cost and tax |
| EV/EBITDA | 7.6× | 13.2× | Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA, profitable companies |
| EV/Sales | 1.0× | 2.6× | Enterprise value ÷ revenue |
| Cost of capital | 6.72% | 7.08% | Return investors require, debt and equity blended |
| SG&A ÷ revenue | 3.6% | — | Selling, general and administrative costs |
| Debt ÷ capital | 47.7% | — | Share of funding from debt, at market values |
| Beta (levered / total unlevered) | 1.19 / 2.60 | — | Market risk / all the risk an undiversified owner carries |
Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, January 2026. Aggregates: total profit ÷ total revenue across the group, so large companies weigh more.
Across 23 U.S. public companies in the airline industry, net profit is 2.5% of revenue, operating profit 5.3% and gross profit 24.8% (January 2026 data from NYU Stern). That gross margin ranks 72 of 94 industries.
The industry average is 10.3%, against 15.7% for the typical industry. A business above 10.3% keeps more of each sale than the listed companies in its field.
Listed companies in the airline industry trade at 7.6× EBITDA and 1.0× revenue. Small private businesses sell for far less: U.S. small businesses averaged 2.7× seller’s discretionary earnings in Q2 2026 (BizBuySell).
A diversified investor would want about 6.7% on the whole business (the industry cost of capital). An owner with most of their wealth in it carries more risk: 3.95% + total beta 2.60 × 4.46% = 15.5%.