Wall Street’s renewed appetite for aviation risk is colliding with a powerful travel rebound, and a handful of names are suddenly being talked about as potential ten‑baggers. Turning $100,000 into $1 million would require a 900% gain, the kind of move that usually demands both a cyclical tailwind and company‑specific execution. In the current market, I see one aviation stock that fits that profile better than the rest: United Airlines, backed by a sector recovery that is finally starting to show up in the numbers.
The broader airline complex has already staged a quiet comeback, yet valuations in key names still lag their pre‑pandemic peaks. That disconnect between improving fundamentals and muted multiples is exactly where outsized returns are born, and it is why I think United Airlines could be the aviation stock analysts are whispering about when they talk about life‑changing upside.
Why aviation is back on Wall Street’s radar
The first clue that something has shifted is the tone around airline stocks from major research desks. Analysts tracking the sector describe how the industry is now delivering some of the most optimistic outlooks on their coverage lists, with carriers like LUV, UAL, AAL and even travel‑adjacent ABNB singled out as beneficiaries of a durable demand recovery, according to recent airline research. A separate set of Wall Street strategists has highlighted the same trio of LUV, UAL and AAL as top ideas, underscoring how sentiment has pivoted from survival to growth for the group, as reflected in Wall Street commentary.
That improving backdrop is visible in the sector’s benchmark as well. The Global X U.S. Airline ETF, known by its ticker JETS, finished 2025 with a gain of about 11% and, more importantly, surged roughly 62% off its April lows, according to analysis of The Global U.S. Airline ETF performance. That kind of move from a diversified basket signals that investors are already rotating back into the space, yet individual carriers still trade at valuations that imply skepticism about how long the upturn can last. For a stock like United Airlines, which has delivered solid profitability through that turbulence, the gap between perception and reality is where the potential for a 10x outcome begins.
United Airlines: the rerating story hiding in plain sight
United Airlines sits at the center of this narrative because it has already done much of the hard work that a ten‑bagger candidate needs to have behind it. Analysts tracking the company note that United Airlines delivered strong 2025 results despite structural and external challenges, maintaining robust profitability while navigating higher costs and operational constraints, according to a detailed review of United Airlines. The same analysis argues that the market has yet to reward that performance with a higher earnings multiple, leaving the stock “still waiting for a rerating” even as fundamentals improve.
Independent coverage of top aviation picks for 2026 reaches a similar conclusion, pointing to United Airlines as a carrier that has shown robust financial results and operational resilience, while cautioning that past performance is not indicative of future results, as highlighted in broader airline stock analysis. When I put those threads together, I see a company that has already proven its business model in a harsh environment but is still priced as if the next downturn is just around the corner. If that perception shifts and United Airlines earns a valuation more in line with high‑quality industrial or travel peers, the resulting multiple expansion, layered on top of earnings growth, could be powerful.
How a 10x outcome could actually happen
To turn $100,000 into $1 million, an investor needs a combination of earnings growth, multiple expansion and time. The playbook is visible in other high‑growth names that have already delivered outsized returns. In a list of “monster” growth ideas, analysts have highlighted companies such as ASTS, IBRX, VST, RKLB and FLY, alongside tech heavyweights like GOOG, as examples of stocks that have dramatically outpaced the S&P 500. A separate breakdown of these “monster growth stocks” again underscores how names like ASTS, IBRX, VST, RKLB, FLY and GOOG have been able to compound at extraordinary rates when their addressable markets and execution lined up, as detailed in this growth‑stock review.
United Airlines is not a software platform or a satellite communications play, but the same math applies. If the company can continue to grow earnings while the market gradually re‑rates the stock toward a premium multiple, the compounding effect over several years could be dramatic. Sector‑wide data already show that the tide is moving in its favor, with The Global X U.S. Airline ETF JETS up about 11% for 2025 and roughly 62% off its lows, according to ETF performance data. In that context, a carrier that is both a core holding in JETS and a favored pick in analyst lists has a plausible path to far outpace the basket, especially if it starts from a depressed valuation base.
Why United stands out from other bullish airline calls
United Airlines is not the only carrier drawing positive attention. Sector roundups of promising aviation names for 2025 and 2026 repeatedly mention LUV, UAL, AAL and ABNB as beneficiaries of resilient travel demand, as seen in recent airline stock coverage. Another analysis of top airline ideas for the coming year again highlights LUV, UAL and AAL as core holdings for investors looking to ride the recovery, reinforcing how central United Airlines has become to the bullish thesis on the sector, according to Wall Street stock.
At the same time, not every airline is positioned the same way. A separate review of four aviation names that appear to be promising bets for 2025 notes how Southwest Airlines is based in the United States and carries a #1 (Strong Buy) rating, while also listing Trending Tickers such as AMD, INTC, MRNA, LCID and CMG in the broader market context, according to this airline roundup. That kind of enthusiasm for LUV and its peers is important, but United Airlines stands out because it combines that positive sentiment with a clear rerating argument and a track record of navigating a turbulent 2025 while still delivering strong profitability.
The risk math behind chasing a potential ten‑bagger
Any claim that a stock could multiply tenfold has to be weighed against the risks, and aviation is no exception. Analysts who flag United Airlines as a top pick are careful to remind investors that past performance is not indicative of future results and that macro shocks, fuel prices or regulatory changes could derail even the best‑laid plans, as noted in broader sector guidance. Other coverage of U.S. airline stocks even includes a prominent Warning that investors should be mindful of valuation risk after the sharp rebound in JETS, underscoring that the path to outsized gains is rarely smooth, according to this U.S. airline review.
For investors trying to size the opportunity, it can help to think in terms of addressable markets and contract economics, the way early‑stage analysts do in other industries. A virtual rocket pitch deck focused on the simulation market, for example, describes an Addressable Market where the Current simulation market’s avg. Annual Contract Value, or ACV, per customer is quoted at $220K and 100K customers, illustrating how a clear revenue model and large customer base can support aggressive growth assumptions, as detailed in that simulation analysis. While airlines operate on very different economics, the principle is similar: if United Airlines can keep expanding its revenue base, improve unit profitability and eventually convince the market to pay a higher multiple for those earnings, the math behind a potential 10x outcome starts to look less like fantasy and more like a high‑risk, high‑reward scenario that disciplined investors can at least model, even if they ultimately decide the turbulence is not for them.
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