Reviewing Wheels Up Experience (NYSE:UP) & Copa (NYSE:CPA)

Copa (NYSE:CPA) and Wheels Up Experience (NYSE:UP) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.1% of Copa shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Wheels Up Experience shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Wheels Up Experience shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Copa and Wheels Up Experience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Copa	15.71%	22.40%	9.32%
Wheels Up Experience	-42.04%	N/A	-30.08%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Copa and Wheels Up Experience”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Copa	$3.62 billion	1.47	$671.65 million	$15.21	8.49
Wheels Up Experience	$736.49 million	0.18	-$294.22 million	($8.46)	-0.44

Copa has higher revenue and earnings than Wheels Up Experience. Wheels Up Experience is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Copa, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Copa and Wheels Up Experience, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Copa	0	1	10	1	3.00
Wheels Up Experience	1	0	0	0	1.00

Copa currently has a consensus price target of $172.20, indicating a potential upside of 33.38%. Given Copa’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Copa is more favorable than Wheels Up Experience.

Volatility and Risk

Copa has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wheels Up Experience has a beta of 2.09, suggesting that its stock price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Copa beats Wheels Up Experience on 12 of the 15 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 Wheels Up Experience

Wheels Up Experience Inc. provides private aviation services in the United States and internationally. The company offers Wheels Up Membership program that consists of two primary membership categories, such as Individual membership for individual and business fliers; and UP for Business membership consists of small and medium enterprise, and custom enterprise solutions for business fliers that tend to spend at higher levels. Its Wheels Up Charter provides charter flight services for passenger groups, sports teams, global corporate events, and tour operations, as well as global passenger, cargo, emergency, and government services. In addition, the company offers wholesale charter services; group charter and cargo flights; maintenance, repair, and operations services; fixed-base operator services; safety and security services; and government, defense, emergency, and medical transport missions. It serves individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated a fleet of 154 owned and leased aircraft. Wheels Up Experience Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Chamblee, Georgia.