LUV · Southwest Airlines Co
$41.84
+0.20 (+0.48%)
At close · Oct 1
Return incl. dividend (before tax)
Market Cap
$20.88B
Shares
489.21M
Volume · Oct 1
5.11M
Avg daily vol (3M)
5.34M
Price & Indicators
20d MA
50d MA
200d MA
Earnings
Filing
Insider
Congress
Investor day
Close$41.64
Open$42.13
Day$41.44–42.24
52W close$29.67–54.80
Avg vol 30d5.5M
Short int22.1M · 4.5% float · 4.5d
Short vol49%
Last earningsOct 22, 2026
DataJan 2020–Sep 2026
Filing10-Q · Jul 23
Up next
Next earnings call
Oct 22, 2026
Scheduled
· in 3 wks
filed Jul 23, 2026
call held Jul 23, 2026
Metrics snapshot
Useful current figures from the complete screener profile.
Revenue (TTM)
—
Trailing 12 months
Net income (TTM)
—
Trailing 12 months
Revenue growth YoY
—
Year over year
Operating margin
—
Trailing 12 months
P / E (TTM)
—
Trailing earnings
FCF yield
—
TTM · current market cap
Return on invested capital
—
Trailing 12 months
Net cash
—
Latest balance sheet
Dividend yield
—
Trailing 12 months
Shares change YoY
—
Year over year · more shares
Price change (1Y)
+30.5%
Trailing year
Short interest
4.5%
Latest settlement · 4.5 days to cover
AI Brief
Q2 FY26 earnings call · Jul 23, 2026
Q2 FY26
TL;DR. Southwest reported a record Q2 with a 20.1% adjusted unit revenue gain and 3.3-point adjusted operating margin expansion despite a nearly $900 million fuel increase, but cut its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $3.25–$4.25 that includes the prior $4.00 floor at the top end.
Bullish
- + Adjusted unit revenue rose a record 20.1% and adjusted operating margin expanded 3.3 points despite a ~$900 million YoY fuel increase.
- + Managed business revenues hit an all-time quarterly record, up 30% YoY on essentially flat capacity.
- + Q3 RASM guided up 17.5%–19.5% YoY with a strong exit rate from Q2, and management sees no deceleration in demand.
- + Investment-grade balance sheet with $5.3 billion liquidity, gross leverage of 2.1x (within stated range), and nearly $2 billion H1 operating cash flow.
Bearish
- − Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance was reset to $3.25–$4.25, replacing the prior 'at least $4.00' expectation, with the prior $4.00 floor equaling the top end of the new range.
- − Fuel expense rose $889 million YoY (a $1.17 per-share headwind) and Q3 fuel is assumed at $3.70–$3.75/gallon on the forward curve.
- − Q2 results included a $285 million non-cash breakage revenue reversal related to non-expiring flight credits from 2022–2025.
- − Q3 adjusted EPS guided to only $0.50–$0.75, with Q3 CASM-X guided up 3.5%–4.0% (including a 1.1-point headwind from 737-700 seat removals) on capacity of -1% to flat.
From the call
AI-generated from the earnings call and 8-K · may contain errors · not investment advice
Equibles Rating
blended score · not investment adviceOverall
Buy
SellHoldBuy
Technical
Neutral
Momentum
Strong
Sentiment
Bullish
Fundamentals
Strong
Quant / Vol
Moderate
Market backdrop
VIX 16.3 · calm
Equity put/call 0.53
Technical
price trend
50 / 200-day cross
No cross
Price vs 200-day avg
−4%
below
Price vs 50-day avg
−2%
below
RSI (14)
52
neutral
MACD trend
Positive
52-week position
48%
mid-range
Volume (OBV)
Confirms
volume backs price
Momentum
relative strength
1-month return
+11%
trailing
6-month return
+4%
trailing
YTD return
+1%
this year
Relative strength
−9%
vs S&P · 6-mo
Sentiment
smart money
Trend (MA cross)
No cross
50d $42 › 200d $44 — 200d above 50d
Institutional flow
Accumulating
+8% holders QoQ · +170 funds added
Insider flow
Flat
No net insider activity over 90 days
Short interest
Falling
4.51% of float · ▼ -21.6% MoM · 4.5 days cover
Volume signal
Normal
Volume near normal
Institution breadth
Multi-yr high
941 holders — near 3-yr high, broad support
Squeeze score
51
elevated · 0–100
Fundamentals
Revenue growth
+4%
Y/Y
EPS growth
+4%
Y/Y
Free cash flow
$395.0M
Valuation
P/E 27
rich
Buyback
$450.0M
remaining
Balance sheet
$682.0M
net cash
Quant / Vol
risk profile
Volatility
44%
annualized · 1-yr
Max drawdown
−34%
past year
ATR
3.1%
of price · 14-day
Blended from price, momentum, positioning, fundamentals & volatility · daily-close · not investment advice. Market backdrop is context, not part of the score.
Guidance & track record
Latest guidance
· from the 8-K filed Jul 22, 2026
RASM, year-over-year
· 3Q 2026
Initiated
17.5% – 19.5%
CASM-X, year-over-year
· 3Q 2026
Non-GAAP
Initiated
3.5% – 4%
Guidance from company 8-Ks · delivered figures from as-reported statements · no analyst estimates involved.
Technicals
trend & momentum for long-term holders Neutral
50 / 200-day cross
No cross
Neutral
Price vs 200-day avg
−4%
Neutral
Price vs 50-day avg
−2%
Neutral
RSI (14)
52
Neutral
MACD trend
Positive
Bullish
52-week position
48%
Neutral
Volume (OBV)
Confirms
Neutral
Market signals — smart money & positioning
Bullish · 3 of 6
Trend (MA cross)
No cross
50d $42 › 200d $44 — 200d above 50d
Institutional flow
Accumulating
+8% holders QoQ · +170 funds added
Insider flow
Flat
No net insider activity over 90 days
Short interest
Falling
4.51% of float · ▼ -21.6% MoM · 4.5 days cover
Volume signal
Normal
Volume near normal
Institution breadth
Multi-yr high
941 holders — near 3-yr high, broad support
Price context
position in its 52-week range
Range low $30
Now $42 · 48%
Range high $55
vs 200-day avg -4%
vs 50-day avg -2%
Illustrative technical + ownership context — a signal mix, not investment advice.
Key metrics
the company's own KPIs, from written earnings releases and filings| Metric | Latest | Period | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active full-time equivalent Employees | 73,456 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Aircraft at end of period | 803 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Available seat miles (ASMs) (in millions) | 47.09B | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| available seat miles per gallon (fuel efficiency) | 1.3% | second quarter 2026 filing | — |
| Average aircraft stage length (miles) | 784 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Average length of passenger haul (miles) | 1,088 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Average passenger fare | $225.61 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Enplaned passengers (000s) | 44.52M | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Fuel consumed, in gallons | 564M | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Fuel costs per gallon | $3.92 | three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax | $3.92 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax (unhedged) | $3.87 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Fuel hedging premium expense | $29M | three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Net margin, as reported | 2.8% | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Net margin, excluding special items non-GAAP | 5.3% | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Non-GAAP Operating income non-GAAP | $585M | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating expenses per ASM, excluding fuel (cents) non-GAAP | 12.6 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating expenses per ASM, excluding fuel and special items (cents) non-GAAP | 12.56 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating expenses per ASM, excluding fuel, profitsharing, and special items non-GAAP | 12.45 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating expenses per ASM, excluding special items (cents) non-GAAP | 17.27 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating revenues per ASM (cents) | 17.91 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Operating revenues per ASM, excluding special items (cents) non-GAAP | 18.51 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
GAAP → non-GAAP reconciliationGAAP Operating revenues per ASM (cents), as reported $17.91
+$0.6 Impact of special items
= Operating revenues per ASM, excluding special items (cents) $18.51
|
|||
| Passenger revenue per ASM | 16.45 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Passenger revenue yield per RPM | 20.74 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| RASM | 17.91 | second quarter 2026 filing | — |
| Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (in millions) | 37.35B | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Revenue passengers carried (000s) | 34.33M | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Seats flown (000s) | 59.01M | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Seats per trip | 160.5 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
| Trips flown | 367,740 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 filing | — |
Figures exactly as the company stated them in writing · click a metric with a to chart its history · period links open the stating document · "filing" marks figures stated in the 10-K/10-Q · YoY needs an exactly comparable prior-year period
Versus peers
Airlines — same industry group| Company | Mkt cap | YTD | Rev growth Y/Y | P/E | Short % shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LUV
this stock
Southwest Airlines Co
|
$20.88B | +0.8% | +3.7% | 27.0 | 4.5% |
|
DAL
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
|
$54.70B | +20.3% | +4.0% | 13.8 | 4.0% |
|
UAL
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
|
$37.00B | -0.8% | +3.2% | 10.7 | 5.6% |
|
RYAAY
Ryanair Holdings PLC
|
$28.65B | -23.8% | — | — | 0.4% |
|
LTM
Latam Airlines Group S.A.
|
$15.35B | -7.6% | — | — | 1.1% |
Peers by industry group · P/E from as-reported trailing EPS · short % is of shares outstanding
At a glance
key data from every sectionOwnership
Short & Settlement
Smart Money
Congressional Trades
Sell
Member
Matthew Robert Van Epps
- Amount
- $1.0K–$15.0K
- Traded
- Jun 16, 2026
Financials
Filings
Performance
| 5D | 20D | 120D | MTD | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | +1.5% | +10.5% | +3.6% | +8.1% | +0.8% |
| SPY | -0.7% | +0.1% | +12.2% | -0.6% | +11.8% |
| vs SPY | +2.1% | +10.4% | -8.6% | +8.7% | -11.1% |
Capital returns
Buyback program
· as of Jul 22, 2026
Authorized
$2.00B
Spent (derived)
$1.55B
Remaining
$450.00M
Spent
Remaining
Dividends per share over the trailing 365 days by ex-date · buyback figures as last reported in SEC filings ("spent" derived as authorized − remaining; when several programs run concurrently, authorized is their combined total per the newest filing) · components shown separately — trailing-year buyback spend isn't tracked, so no combined shareholder yield is derived.