Southwest Airlines (LUV) Free Cash Flow (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines posted quarterly Free Cash Flow of $788.0 million for Q1 2026, up 136.64% year-on-year from $333.0 million in Q1 2025, and up 239.72% on a QoQ basis from -$564.0 million in Q4 2025.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) has 18 years of Free Cash Flow data on file, last reported at $788.0 million in Q1 2026.
- For the quarter ending Q1 2026, Free Cash Flow rose 136.64% year-over-year to $788.0 million; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 stood at $234.0 million (up 114.33% YoY), and the FY2025 full-year result was -$831.0 million, up 47.8% from the prior year.
- Free Cash Flow for Q1 2026 stood at $788.0 million, up from -$564.0 million in the prior quarter.
- Across five years, Free Cash Flow topped out at $1.9 billion in Q2 2022 and bottomed at -$1.6 billion in Q4 2024.
- The 5-year median for Free Cash Flow is $214.0 million (2022), against an average of $143.6 million.
- The widest annual swing landed in 2022, when Free Cash Flow jumped 219.4%; it then tumbled 507.35% in 2024.
- A 5-year view of Free Cash Flow shows it stood at $214.0 million in 2022, then surged by 78.04% to $381.0 million in 2023, then sank by 507.35% to -$1.6 billion in 2024, then jumped by 63.66% to -$564.0 million in 2025, then surged by 239.72% to $788.0 million in 2026.
- The last three Free Cash Flow figures came in at $788.0 million (Q1 2026), -$564.0 million (Q4 2025), and -$391.0 million (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Free Cash Flow (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | 53.78 Bn | 48.72 Bn | 15.19 Bn | 1.43 Bn |
| 2 | Southwest Airlines | 21.39 Bn | 18.06 Bn | 6.21 Bn | 788.00 Mn |
| 3 | Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V | 18.50 Bn | 17.47 Bn | -239.00 Mn | 201.00 Mn |
| 4 | Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V | 8.98 Bn | 8.98 Bn | - | 251.00 Mn |
| 5 | Alaska Air | 5.26 Bn | 3.49 Bn | 3.20 Bn | 391.00 Mn |
| 6 | Skywest | 3.43 Bn | 2.80 Bn | 924.11 Mn | 130.43 Mn |
| 7 | Copa Holdings | 3.33 Bn | 1.99 Bn | 713.71 Mn | -949.97 Mn |
| 8 | Jetblue Airways | 2.03 Bn | -140.72 Mn | 1.87 Bn | -6.00 Mn |
| 9 | Allegiant Travel | 1.67 Bn | 765.78 Mn | 651.87 Mn | 222.64 Mn |
| 10 | Frontier Group Holdings | 1.39 Bn | 618.26 Mn | 724.00 Mn | 28.00 Mn |
Historic Data
Download Data| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2026 | 788.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 788.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2025 | -564.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2025 | -564.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2025 | -391.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2025 | -391.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 401.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 401.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 333.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 333.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2024 | -1.55 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2024 | -1.55 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 103.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 103.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2024 | -517.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2024 | -517.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -687.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -687.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 381.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 381.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2023 | -226.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2023 | -226.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 1.41 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 1.41 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 618.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 618.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 214.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 214.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2022 | -838.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2022 | -838.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 1.90 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 1.90 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 1.07 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 1.07 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 67.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 67.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2021 | -578.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2021 | -578.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 2.01 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 2.01 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2021 | 645.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2021 | 645.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2020 | -686.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2020 | -686.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2020 | -1.14 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2020 | -1.14 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2020 | 784.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2020 | 784.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2020 | -601.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2020 | -601.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2019 | 563.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2019 | 563.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2019 | 716.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2019 | 716.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2019 | 736.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2019 | 736.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 945.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 945.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 984.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 984.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2018 | 1.26 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2018 | 1.26 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2018 | 1.61 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2018 | 1.61 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2018 | 978.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2018 | 978.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2017 | 2.04 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2017 | 2.04 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2017 | 358.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2017 | 358.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2017 | 699.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2017 | 699.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2017 | 1.21 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2017 | 1.21 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2016 | 1.96 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2016 | 1.96 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2016 | 392.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2016 | 392.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2016 | 1.09 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2016 | 1.09 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2016 | 1.61 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2016 | 1.61 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2015 | -1.64 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2015 | -1.64 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2015 | 804.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2015 | 804.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2015 | 605.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2015 | 605.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2015 | 879.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2015 | 879.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2014 | 182.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2014 | 182.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2014 | 213.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2014 | 213.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2014 | 1.32 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2014 | 1.32 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2014 | 724.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2014 | 724.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2013 | -149.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2013 | -149.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2013 | 160.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2013 | 160.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2013 | 585.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2013 | 585.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2013 | 449.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2013 | 449.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2012 | -168.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2012 | -168.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2012 | 58.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2012 | 58.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2012 | -271.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2012 | -271.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2012 | 1.10 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2012 | 1.10 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2011 | -49.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2011 | -49.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2011 | -494.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2011 | -494.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2011 | 22.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2011 | 22.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2011 | 908.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2011 | 908.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2010 | 174.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2010 | 174.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2010 | 285.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2010 | 285.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2010 | 381.00 |
| Jun 30, 2010 | 381.00 |
| Mar 31, 2010 | 512.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2010 | 512.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2009 | -564.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2009 | -564.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2009 | 270.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2009 | 270.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2009 | 322.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2009 | 322.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2009 | 201.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2009 | 201.00 Mn |