Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) is a Industrials stock trading at $40.72 (as of 2026-08-24), with a market capitalization of $19.92B and a trailing P/E of 23.8. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a total fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as 10 near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. It also provides inflight entertainment and connectivity services on Wi-Fi enabled aircrafts; and Rapid Rewards loyalty program that enables program members to earn points for dollars spent on Southwest base fares. In addition, the company offers a suite of digital platforms to support customers' travel needs, including websites and apps; and SWABIZ, an online booking tool. Further, it provides ancillary services, such as Southwest's EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Understand Southwest Airlines Co.: how it makes money

Southwest Airlines operates passenger airline flights in the United States and near-international markets, primarily earning money from passenger revenues, with additional revenue from other sources and in-flight entertainment and connectivity.

Southwest's profit engine is tied to keeping scheduled flights completed and running on schedule, because most revenue comes from passengers and operational disruptions can create measurable revenue penalties.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Passenger$6.6B
Other$0.6B

Business quality (Weak): The operating picture centers on reliability and demand capture (completion factor and load factor), with disruption risk explicitly reflected as a revenue penalty.

Valuation: At 32× earnings, LUV trades 82% above the Transportation average (18×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • High flight completion: Completion factor is 98.6 percent, which supports translating scheduled flying into delivered service.
  • Solid demand capture: Load factor is 85.4 percent, indicating passengers fill a large share of available seats.

Bear case

  • Operational disruptions can directly hit revenue: The company reports a revenue penalty from operational disruptions (0.41 USD_B), showing reliability issues can have a financial impact.
  • Service performance pressure: On-time performance is 72.6 percent and cancellation rate is 1.0 percent, both of which can signal higher operational friction.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$40.72
Market Cap$19.92B
P/E Ratio23.8
EV / EBITDA6.2
Price / Book2.81
Price / Sales0.66
FCF Yield-2.3%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$28.06B
Net Margin1.6%
Revenue Growth (YoY)16.4%
EPS Growth (YoY)20.0%
FCF Growth (YoY)23.1%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score2.16 (grey)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E23.8
Sector P/E (Industrials)26.0
Industry P/E (Transportation)17.0
vs Sector-8.4%
vs Industry40.0%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderVANGUARD GROUP INC ($2.50B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)10
Company
SectorIndustrials
IndustryTransportation
CEORobert E. Jordan
Employees71,506
CountryUS
IPO Date1980-01-02

Related Companies (Transportation; 8 comparable transport companies)

  • American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
  • Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK)
  • United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL)
  • Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL)
  • JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU)
  • SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW)
  • Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC)
  • Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT)
LUV earnings history · LUV institutional & insider holders · LUV KPIs & operating metrics · LUV financials · LUV investor presentations & press releases · LUV SEC filings · LUV peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-24.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.