TORVANTA
Industrials · S&P 500 · data as of 2026-10-05

LUV stock analysis: Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines (LUV) is an S&P 500 company in Passenger Airlines. It grades strongest on growth and weakest on profitability.

The model's view of LUV · subscribers

Where LUV ranks among the 1,500 U.S. stocks the model scores each trading day, its expected return, the evidence for and against it, and whether the model portfolio holds it. The grades below describe the company's data; they are not the model's view.

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What's happening with LUV · updated 2026-10-05 · from prices and SEC filings

LUV price performance

LUV against the S&P 500, one year
+0%+25%+50%LUV +30%S&P 500 +18%2025-09-292026-10-05
Year to date+2.6%S&P 500 +14.5% · behind by 11.9 pts
1 year+31.0%S&P 500 +17.0% · ahead by 14.0 pts
3 years+63.3%S&P 500 +89.3% · behind by 25.9 pts
5 years-16.3%S&P 500 +91.3% · behind by 107.6 pts

Total returns with dividends reinvested.

LUV factor grades

Each grade compares LUV with the rest of its sector (A+ best, F worst); the numbers behind it are shown with the typical figure for its peers.

BValueP/E 26.2x (sector 27.2x)FCF yield -2.2% (sector 4.0%)
A-GrowthRevenue growth +9% (sector +7%)EPS growth +142% (sector +9%)
D+ProfitabilityOperating margin 3.5% (sector 16.9%)ROIC 24.8% (sector 19.9%)
CMomentum12-month change +31%From 52-wk high -23%

LUV in plain numbers

LUV key statistics

SectorIndustrials
IndustryPassenger Airlines
IndexS&P 500
Market value$20.5B
Revenue growth (y/y)+9%
Free-cash-flow yield-2.2%
Dividend yield1.7%
Next earnings (expected)2026-10-21
Valuation measures
Market value$20.5B
Enterprise value$16.7B
P/E (trailing)26.2x
Forward P/E (Torvanta estimate)17.4x
PEG (Torvanta estimate)0.35
Price / sales0.7x
Price / book2.9x
EV / revenue0.6x
EV / EBITDA6.4x
Financial highlights
Revenue, last 12 months$30.1B
Net income, last 12 months$837.0M
EPS, last 12 months (GAAP)$1.60
Operating margin3.5%
Net margin2.8%
Return on equity11.1%
Return on invested capital24.8%
Cash$3.8B
Free cash flow, last 12 months-$455.0M
Interest cover5.2x
Current ratio0.49x

Company figures from its latest SEC filings; market value and returns from end-of-day prices.

LUV earnings trends

Revenue vs earnings
-$149.0M$2.0B$4.1B$6.3B$8.4BSep 2024 Revenue: $6.9BDec 2024 Revenue: $6.9BMar 2025 Revenue: $6.4BJun 2025 Revenue: $7.2BSep 2025 Revenue: $6.9BDec 2025 Revenue: $7.4BMar 2026 Revenue: $7.2BJun 2026 Revenue: $8.4BSep 2024 Net income: $67.0MDec 2024 Net income: $261.0MMar 2025 Net income: -$149.0MJun 2025 Net income: $213.0MSep 2025 Net income: $54.0MDec 2025 Net income: $323.0MMar 2026 Net income: $227.0MJun 2026 Net income: $233.0MSep 2024Dec 2024Mar 2025Jun 2025Sep 2025Dec 2025Mar 2026Jun 2026Net margin: 1.0%Net margin: 3.8%Net margin: -2.3%Net margin: 2.9%Net margin: 0.8%Net margin: 4.3%Net margin: 3.1%Net margin: 2.8%-2%1%4%■ Revenue ■ Net income ━ Net margin
Earnings per share$-0.3$-0.1$0.2$0.4$0.6Sep 2024 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.1Dec 2024 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.4Mar 2025 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $-0.3Jun 2025 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.4Sep 2025 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.1Dec 2025 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.6Mar 2026 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.5Jun 2026 EPS (GAAP, diluted): $0.5Sep 2024Dec 2024Mar 2025Jun 2025Sep 2025Dec 2025Mar 2026Jun 2026■ EPS (GAAP, diluted) Change from a year earlier: Sep 2025 -9% · Dec 2025 +38% · Jun 2026 +21%

From the company's 10-Q and 10-K filings with the SEC.

Southwest Airlines financials (from SEC filings)

Fiscal yearFY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025
Revenue$15.8B$23.8B$26.1B$27.5B$28.1B
Net income$1.0B$539.0M$465.0M$464.0M$441.0M
EPS (GAAP)$1.61$0.83$0.73$0.72$0.81
Free cash flow$1.8B-$135.0M-$358.0M-$1.6B-$830.0M

LUV earnings history

ReportedEPS (GAAP)EPS y/yRevenue y/yStock vs S&P 500, 2 days
2026-07-22$0.47+21%+16%-6.8%
2026-04-22$0.45n/a+13%-8.4%
2026-01-28$0.58+38%+7%+17.5%
2025-10-22$0.10-9%+1%-8.8%
2025-07-23$0.39-33%-2%-11.4%
2025-04-23$-0.26n/a+2%+3.2%

About Southwest Airlines

HeadquartersDallas, TX
Industry (SEC code)Air Transportation, Scheduled
Fiscal year endsDecember 31
Incorporated inTX
Listed onNYSE

From the company's SEC registration record.

Companies similar to LUV

CompanyMarket valueP/ERevenue growthOperating margin12-month change
LUV Southwest Airlines$20.5B26.2x+9%3.5%+31%
VRSK Verisk$21.4B24.9x+6%44.0%-34%compare
JBHT JB Hunt$21.6B32.6x+5%7.5%+68%compare
SNA Snap-on$19.0B18.7x+4%25.4%+9%compare
NDSN Nordson$18.6B33.8x+7%26.9%+45%
BR Broadridge$18.1B16.6x+9%17.4%-31%
VLTO Veralto$23.7B24.9x+6%23.1%-9%

All Industrials stock ratings

Frequently asked questions

Is LUV stock a buy?

Torvanta does not tell individuals what to buy. Its grades for LUV are shown above. Subscribers see the model's rank, expected return and whether the model portfolio holds it. This is research, not a recommendation.

What is LUV's P/E ratio?

LUV trades at about 26.2 times its last 12 months of GAAP earnings reported to the SEC, and about 17.4 times Torvanta's own estimate of the next 12 months.

When does LUV report earnings next?

Based on its filing history, Torvanta expects Southwest Airlines to report around 2026-10-21.

Does LUV pay a dividend?

Yes. Its dividend yield is about 1.7%.

How has LUV performed against the S&P 500?

Over the past year LUV returned +31.0%, against +17.0% for the S&P 500, dividends reinvested.

See the model's view

Subscribers get the model's rank and expected return for every covered company, the reasoning behind each, and the Torvanta model portfolio's trades each trading day, sized and explained, at three risk levels.

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Torvanta is research only - not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Grades describe a company's reported data against its sector; they are not the model's view, change as data changes and can be wrong. Financial figures come from the company's SEC filings; returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results.

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