Growth Metrics

Southwest Airlines (LUV) EBITDA Margin (2009 - 2026)

Southwest Airlines posted quarterly EBITDA Margin of 3.45% for Q1 2026, up 575.0% year-on-year from 0.51% in Q1 2025, and down 34.36% on a QoQ basis from 5.25% in Q4 2025.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) has 18 years of EBITDA Margin data on file, last reported at 3.45% in Q1 2026.

  • For the quarter ending Q1 2026, EBITDA Margin rose 575.0% year-over-year to 3.45%; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 stood at 3.21% (up 136.0% YoY), and the FY2025 full-year result was 1.53%, up 36.0% from the prior year.
  • EBITDA Margin for Q1 2026 stood at 3.45%, down from 5.25% in the prior quarter.
  • Across five years, EBITDA Margin topped out at 10.02% in Q2 2022 and bottomed at 6.24% in Q4 2022.
  • The 5-year median for EBITDA Margin is 2.79% (2025), against an average of 1.34%.
  • The widest annual swing landed in 2022, when EBITDA Margin sank 1592 bps; it then jumped 993 bps in 2024.
  • A 5-year view of EBITDA Margin shows it stood at 6.24% in 2022, then increased by 5 bps to 5.92% in 2023, then jumped by 168 bps to 4.01% in 2024, then soared by 31 bps to 5.25% in 2025, then slumped by 34 bps to 3.45% in 2026.
  • The last three EBITDA Margin figures came in at 3.45% (Q1 2026), 5.25% (Q4 2025), and 1.19% (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.

Peer Comparison

# Company Market Cap Enterprise Value Gross Profit (Qtr) EBITDA Margin (Qtr)
1 Delta Air Lines 53.78 Bn 48.72 Bn 15.19 Bn -1.64%
2 Southwest Airlines 21.39 Bn 18.06 Bn 6.21 Bn 3.45%
3 Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V 18.50 Bn 17.47 Bn -239.00 Mn 186.84%
4 Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V 8.98 Bn 8.98 Bn - 13.25%
5 Alaska Air 5.26 Bn 3.49 Bn 3.20 Bn -8.45%
6 Skywest 3.43 Bn 2.80 Bn 924.11 Mn 9.97%
7 Copa Holdings 3.33 Bn 1.99 Bn 713.71 Mn 21.77%
8 Jetblue Airways 2.03 Bn -140.72 Mn 1.87 Bn -10.00%
9 Allegiant Travel 1.67 Bn 765.78 Mn 651.87 Mn 12.07%
10 Frontier Group Holdings 1.39 Bn 618.26 Mn 724.00 Mn -28.53%

Historic Data

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DateValue
Mar 31, 2026 3.45%
Dec 31, 2025 5.25%
Sep 30, 2025 1.19%
Jun 30, 2025 2.79%
Mar 31, 2025 -2.30%
Dec 31, 2024 4.01%
Sep 30, 2024 0.28%
Jun 30, 2024 4.88%
Mar 31, 2024 -3.35%
Dec 31, 2023 -5.92%
Sep 30, 2023 5.15%
Jun 30, 2023 7.73%
Mar 31, 2023 -5.36%
Dec 31, 2022 -6.24%
Sep 30, 2022 -3.59%
Jun 30, 2022 10.02%
Mar 31, 2022 4.79%
Dec 31, 2021 3.86%
Sep 30, 2021 12.33%
Jun 30, 2021 13.57%
Mar 31, 2021 8.77%
Dec 31, 2020 -58.07%
Sep 30, 2020 -62.97%
Jun 30, 2020 -85.22%
Mar 31, 2020 -5.17%
Dec 31, 2019 11.61%
Sep 30, 2019 10.04%
Jun 30, 2019 11.42%
Mar 31, 2019 8.99%
Dec 31, 2018 14.38%
Sep 30, 2018 13.08%
Jun 30, 2018 16.60%
Mar 31, 2018 11.06%
Dec 31, 2017 14.09%
Sep 30, 2017 12.35%
Jun 30, 2017 13.82%
Mar 31, 2017 7.21%
Dec 31, 2016 16.67%
Sep 30, 2016 10.06%
Jun 30, 2016 20.17%
Mar 31, 2016 13.88%
Dec 31, 2015 20.61%
Sep 30, 2015 6.49%
Jun 30, 2015 13.42%
Mar 31, 2015 10.17%
Dec 31, 2014 13.42%
Sep 30, 2014 2.63%
Jun 30, 2014 11.73%
Mar 31, 2014 3.43%
Dec 31, 2013 8.72%
Sep 30, 2013 8.65%
Jun 30, 2013 1.87%
Mar 31, 2013 1.64%
Dec 31, 2012 2.18%
Sep 30, 2012 4.90%
Jun 30, 2012 -0.76%
Mar 31, 2012 6.64%
Dec 31, 2011 3.58%
Sep 30, 2011 5.22%
Jun 30, 2011 5.00%
Mar 31, 2011 11.15%
Dec 31, 2010 6.94%
Sep 30, 2010 11.12%
Jun 30, 2010 11.46%
Mar 31, 2010 2.05%
Dec 31, 2009 6.16%
Sep 30, 2009 0.83%
Jun 30, 2009 4.70%
Mar 31, 2009 -2.12%