LTM vs TAP: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. LTM and TAP share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined LTM and TAP exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. runs the largest airline network in South America, with passenger subsidiaries in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru, a long-haul operation to North America, Europe and Oceania, and a cargo business that carried ~$510 million of revenue in the second quarter of 2026. The group transported ~21.1 million passengers in that quarter at an ~81.8% load factor, flew an operating fleet of ~383 aircraft, and guides to ~410 aircraft by the end of 2026 as A320neo, A321neo, Boeing 787-9 and Embraer E190-E2 deliveries arrive. Brazil is now its largest revenue market, ahead of Chile. Since 2022 LATAM has flown a trans-American joint venture with Delta Air Lines, having left the oneworld alliance in 2020, and reports in US dollars even though most ticket revenue is collected in Brazilian reais, Chilean pesos and other local currencies.

Full LTM guide

Molson Coors Beverage Company brews and sells beer and adjacent drinks across two reporting segments: Americas, which contributed ~$2.40 billion of net sales in the second quarter of 2026, and EMEA and APAC, which added ~$701 million. The Americas business rests on Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Blue Moon and Molson Canadian; in Europe the anchors are Carling, Madri and Staropramen. Management has spent the past several years pushing what it calls beyond beer, a portfolio that now includes Simply Spiked, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Monaco cocktails, the energy brand ZOA and US distribution of Fever-Tree mixers. Roughly ~16,000 employees support a company that reported ~$11.08 billion of trailing twelve month revenue.

Full TAP guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• LTM drivers: Capacity growth funded by a renewed fleet; Premium cabin and cargo carry the revenue mix.
• TAP drivers: Premiumization and price mix; Beyond beer and non-alcoholic adjacencies.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Fuel is the dominant variable: a Middle East supply disruption nearly doubled LATAM's fuel-related costs year over year in the second quarter of 2026 and cut operating margin from ~12.9% to ~5.4%, and the group carries no permanent hedge that removes that exposure. For TAP, category decline is the structural risk: US beer volumes have fallen for years, and second quarter 2026 brand volume was down ~4.8%, so the company is running to stand still.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick LTM if you believe its drivers more; TAP if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the LTM and TAP guides.

LTM. All figures are in US dollars, which is how LATAM reports, even though the majority of ticket sales are collected in local South American currencies. The trailing multiples blend a near-record first quarter (~19.8% adjusted operating margin) with a fuel-crushed second quarter (~5.4%), so a trailing P/E near ~9.6x is describing two very different operating environments averaged together. Trailing dividends of ~$0.96 per ADS, an interim in December 2025 plus a final in May 2026, work out to roughly a ~1.8% yield at the recent price.

TAP. The multiple is the cheapest part of the story. At roughly ~9x forward earnings and ~0.7x sales, TAP prices in continued volume decline rather than a recovery, which is a different setup from most consumer staples names. Trailing net income is negative at roughly ~-$2.3 billion because of the Americas goodwill write-down, so trailing P/E is not meaningful here and forward earnings, EV/EBITDA and free cash flow are the more usable anchors.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): LTM shows revenue (ttm) ~$15.9B; FY2026 guidance ~$17.3B to ~$17.7B, net income (ttm) ~$1.56B, about ~$5.45 per ADS, q2 2026 revenue and margin ~$4.18B (+27.6% YoY), ~5.4% adjusted operating margin, adjusted ebitda ~$713M in Q2 2026 (~17.0% margin); FY2026 guided ~$4.1B to ~$4.4B; TAP shows revenue (ttm) ~$11.08 billion, q2 2026 net sales ~$3.10 billion, down ~3.3% year over year, q2 2026 underlying eps ~$1.58, down ~22.9%, market capitalization ~$8.2 billion at ~$44 per share.

LTM and TAP are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined LTM and TAP exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.