8 Best Airline Stocks to Buy Heading into 2026

Page 7 of 7

1. Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK

Analysts’ Upside Potential as of November 20: 71.9%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK) is the Best Airline Stock. The company and its subsidiaries operate airlines in three segments: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Regional. The company operates scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation services throughout the United States, Belize, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Bahamas, as well as shorter-distance flights within North America.

On November 3, 2025, TD Cowen kept its Buy rating on Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares and raised its price objective to $65 from $61, as reported by The Fly. The firm showed confidence in the airline’s earnings growth potential by updating its estimates to reflect the company’s third-quarter 2025 results and fourth-quarter guidance regarding RASM (revenue per available seat mile) and CASMex (cost per available seat mile excluding fuel).

In separate news, The Fly reported on November 1, 2025, that Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK) stated in a regulatory filing that it will release revised fourth-quarter guidance in early December. The business stated that this information will not be released until the complete financial impact of recent IT outages has been assessed.

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK)  reported $3.8 billion in revenue, resulting in a 1.4% RASM YoY growth and $229 million in operating cash flow in the last quarter. Cargo jumped by 27%, corporate travel surged by 8% YoY, premium revenue increased by 5%, and loyalty compensation shot up by 8%. The airline announced new routes from Seattle to London/Reykjavik beginning in 2026, as well as the debut of Atmos Rewards and the expansion of fleetwide Starlink Wi-Fi.

While we acknowledge the potential of ALK to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ALK and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.

Page 7 of 7