Overall verdict
Neutral
5.6/10
1-year performance
+17.32%
Score breakdown
Up 17.3% over 1 year, 40% of the 52-week range.
Strongest: Financial strength 8.1/10. Weakest: Profitability 4.6/10.
25 analysts, target +0.2% vs the price.
Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and internationally. It also provides Rapid Rewards loyalty program; SWABIZ, an online booking tool; and inflight entertainment platform that includes movies-on-demand live and on-demand television, flight tracker, and additional curated content, as well as a variety of premium snacks and coffee.
In addition, the company offers ancillary services, such as in-flight purchases, baggage fees, EarlyBird Check-In, and upgraded boarding, as well as transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. As of December 31, 2025, the company operated a total fleet of 803 Boeing 737 aircraft ; and served 117 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. Southwest Airlines Co. was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Sector
Industrials
Industry
Passenger Airlines
Primary listing
Nyse
United States
CEO
Mr. Robert E. Jordan
Founded
1967
Employees
72 790
Revenue / employee
385 534 USD
Next earnings
October 21, 2026
Institutional holders
- PRIMECAP MANAGEMENT CO/CA/9.97%
- FRANKLIN RESOURCES INC9.52%
- VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC6.46%
- BlackRock, Inc.6.12%
- STATE STREET CORP5.99%
- Elliott Investment Management L.P.4.97%
- VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC4.91%
- PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/2.84%
- GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC2.60%
- Other institutions39.54%
- Rest of the register7.07%
928 13F filings as of June 30, 2026: US managers above $100M, filed up to 45 days after quarter end. No insiders, no retail. A share on loan is declared by its lender and by whoever bought it from the short seller, so the total can exceed 100%.
Research uses the underlying stock’s market history. The purchase quote is calculated separately when you review your order.
52-week high
55.11 USD
52-week low
29.26 USD
1-year performance
17.32%
Rising
Year-to-date performance
-4.84%
Rising
Drawdown
-28.33%
Marked drawdown
Position in the 52-week range
40% of range
Against the world ETF
Over 21 years, from January 2006 to September 2026, the share did not clearly beat the world ETF once risk is accounted for. It earned less, while shaking 2.4 times harder.
$10,000 placed at the end of January 2006 are worth today
| Southwest Airlines | $29,897 |
| World ETF | $54,847 |
| S&P 500 | $87,327 |
| Risk-free placement | $14,210 |
The risk
- Shaking:the share moves 2.4 times as much as the world ETF.
- Worst fall:-67 % between July 2006 and February 2009. $10,000 placed at the top fell to $3,287. The world ETF, at worst: -53 %. Back to its high in 57 months.
Southwest Airlines earned less than the world ETF since 2006
Value of $10,000 placed at the end of January 2006, dividends reinvested, in dollars
- Southwest Airlines: $29,897
- World ETF: $54,847
- S&P 500: $87,327
- Risk-free placement: $14,210
Based on past performance. This is not a recommendation.
Range: 39.14 USD - 43.28 USD (2 methods agree)
Gross margin 18.9%, net margin 2.8%, ROIC 6.8%, ROE 11.1%.
Net margin
2.79%
Fair
Sector 3.65%|S&P 13.13%
Gross margin
18.89%
Exceptional
Return on equity (ROE)
11.11%
Fair
Sector 12.47%|S&P 16.52%
Return on invested capital (ROIC)
6.83%
High
Free cash flow margin (FCF)
-1.52%
Negative
Profit-to-cash conversion (FCF conversion)
-0.55x
Low
Margin stability
13.1 pts
Very uneven
Revenue to net income
Growth
5.4/10Revenue up 16.4% over 1 year, 25.4% a year over 5.
Revenue (trailing 12 months)
30.1Md USD
Revenue growth (1y)
16.40%
Solid
Revenue growth (3y)
17.84%
Solid
EPS growth (1y)
20.04%
Solid
EPS CAGR (5y)
—
EPS revisions (3 months)
-10.22%
Sharply revised down
Valuation
5.3/10P/E 24.0x, forward P/E 14.6x, EV/EBITDA 7.4x, PEG 0.17. The multiple sits in the 88th percentile of its own 5-year history.
P/E (TTM)
24.0x
Very expensive
Sector 11.0x|S&P 23.7x
Forward P/E
14.6x
Expensive
EV / EBITDA
7.4x
Expensive
Sector 6.1x|S&P 15.0x
PEG
0.17
Growth unpriced
Sector 0.17|S&P 0.89
Fair value (reverse DCF)
41.21 USD
Fairly priced
P/E vs its own 5-year history
among the 12% highest valuations
At its historical high
Market cap
19.3Md USD
Financial strength
8.1/10Cash covers 55.0% of the debt, net debt/EBITDA 1.2x.
Net debt / EBITDA
1.2x
Very solid
Gearing (net debt / equity)
43.74%
Solid
Cash
3.8Md USD
Cash / market cap
19.62%
Very solid
Cash / total debt
55.03%
Solid
Interest coverage
5.2x
Solid
Net debt
3.1Md USD
Equity
7.1Md USD
Closed daily candles, 2 years
Last close on October 16, 2026: 39.50 USD
- MM2041.48
- MM5041.16
- MM20043.50
- RSI 1441.3
Top panel: closed candles, 20, 50 and 200-day moving averages, with volume in grey. Bottom panel: 14-day RSI with dashed 30 and 70 levels.
200-day average slope, 1 month
+0.43%
200-day average slope, 3 months
+5.69%
50-day average slope, 1 month
-5.60%
Price structure
Lower lows
Bullish RSI divergence
No
20-day volatility
1.90 % per day
Volatility change
-19.22%
Forecasts by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | EPS | Normalised EPS | Revenue | EBITDA | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.71 (7) | 2.86 (23) | 33 217 (14) | 3 476 (19) | 1 236 (6) |
| 2027 | 4.40 (10) | 4.33 (24) | 34 932 (20) | 4 534 (20) | 2 134 (9) |
Amounts in millions of USD, EPS in USD per share. In brackets, the number of analysts. Consensus as of October 10, 2026.
Same sub-industry: 64 companies behind the medians.
| # | Company | Code | Country | Overall / 10 | Fundamentals / 10 | Mkt cap | P/E | Net margin | Revenue growth | ROIC | Net debt / EBITDA | FCF yield | 1-year perf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IAG | 7.2 | 7.7 | 23.9Md USD | 7.4x | 9.2 % | 4.7 % | 16.2 % | 0.8x | 19.4 % | 0.3 % | ||
| 2 | LTM | 6.5 | 7.2 | 13.8Md USD | 9.7x | 9.9 % | 21.0 % | 17.5 % | 1.4x | 12.8 % | 10.3 % | ||
| 3 | RYA | 6.3 | 6.6 | 26.1Md USD | 12.7x | 12.1 % | 1.1 % | 21.9 % | -0.5x | 7.4 % | -11.0 % | ||
| 4 | DAL | 5.7 | 5.1 | 51.4Md USD | 15.6x | 4.6 % | 21.1 % | 8.9 % | 1.9x | 5.9 % | 26.6 % | ||
| 5 | LUV | 5.6 | 5.6 | 19.3Md USD | 24.0x | 2.8 % | 16.4 % | 6.8 % | 1.2x | -2.4 % | 17.3 % | ||
| 6 | UAL | 5.6 | 5.3 | 32.9Md USD | 9.5x | 5.6 % | 16.0 % | 8.1 % | 2.4x | 7.7 % | -2.5 % | ||
| 7 | C6L | 4.8 | 5.0 | 16.0Md USD | 17.2x | 5.8 % | 5.0 % | 4.6 % | 0.1x | 12.6 % | -0.3 % | ||
| 8 | INDIGO | 4.0 | 2.6 | 19.6Md USD | Not meaningful (loss) | -5.4 % | 19.9 % | — | 1.3x | — | -19.0 % | ||
| 9 | 753 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 13.6Md USD | Not meaningful (loss) | -1.3 % | 2.9 % | -1.1 % | 8.5x | 8.8 % | -32.2 % |
