Southwest Airlines (LUV) Operating Expenses (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines posted quarterly Operating Expenses of $6.9 billion for Q1 2026, up 4.03% year-on-year from $6.7 billion in Q1 2025, and down 1.87% on a QoQ basis from $7.1 billion in Q4 2025.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) has 18 years of Operating Expenses data on file, last reported at $6.9 billion in Q1 2026.
- For the quarter ending Q1 2026, Operating Expenses rose 4.03% year-over-year to $6.9 billion; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 stood at $27.9 billion (up 3.0% YoY), and the FY2025 full-year result was $27.6 billion, up 1.74% from the prior year.
- Operating Expenses for Q1 2026 stood at $6.9 billion, down from $7.1 billion in the prior quarter.
- Across five years, Operating Expenses topped out at $7.2 billion in Q4 2023 and bottomed at $4.8 billion in Q1 2022.
- The 5-year median for Operating Expenses is $6.7 billion (2024), against an average of $6.5 billion.
- The widest annual swing landed in 2022, when Operating Expenses surged 161.47%; it then slipped 7.96% in 2024.
- A 5-year view of Operating Expenses shows it stood at $6.6 billion in 2022, then rose by 10.22% to $7.2 billion in 2023, then declined by 7.96% to $6.7 billion in 2024, then advanced by 6.0% to $7.1 billion in 2025, then dropped by 1.87% to $6.9 billion in 2026.
- The last three Operating Expenses figures came in at $6.9 billion (Q1 2026), $7.1 billion (Q4 2025), and $6.9 billion (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Opex (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | 53.78 Bn | 48.72 Bn | 15.19 Bn | 15.35 Bn |
| 2 | Southwest Airlines | 21.39 Bn | 18.06 Bn | 6.21 Bn | 6.92 Bn |
| 3 | Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V | 18.50 Bn | 17.47 Bn | -239.00 Mn | 1.20 Bn |
| 4 | Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V | 8.98 Bn | 8.98 Bn | - | 791.00 Mn |
| 5 | Alaska Air | 5.26 Bn | 3.49 Bn | 3.20 Bn | 3.58 Bn |
| 6 | Skywest | 3.43 Bn | 2.80 Bn | 924.11 Mn | 889.49 Mn |
| 7 | Copa Holdings | 3.33 Bn | 1.99 Bn | 713.71 Mn | 753.30 Mn |
| 8 | Jetblue Airways | 2.03 Bn | -140.72 Mn | 1.87 Bn | 2.46 Bn |
| 9 | Allegiant Travel | 1.67 Bn | 765.78 Mn | 651.87 Mn | 651.33 Mn |
| 10 | Frontier Group Holdings | 1.39 Bn | 618.26 Mn | 724.00 Mn | 1.28 Bn |
Historic Data
Download Data| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2026 | 6.92 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 7.05 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 6.91 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 7.02 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 6.65 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 6.65 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 6.83 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 6.96 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 6.72 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 7.23 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 6.41 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 6.24 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 5.99 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 6.56 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 5.83 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 5.57 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 4.85 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 4.86 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 3.95 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 3.41 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2021 | 1.85 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2020 | 3.18 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2020 | 3.20 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2020 | 2.14 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2020 | 4.34 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2019 | 5.07 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2019 | 4.82 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2019 | 4.94 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 4.64 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 4.88 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2018 | 4.78 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2018 | 4.77 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2018 | 4.33 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2017 | 4.52 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2017 | 4.46 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2017 | 4.52 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2017 | 4.25 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2016 | 4.33 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2016 | 4.44 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2016 | 4.11 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2016 | 3.88 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2015 | 3.95 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2015 | 4.09 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2015 | 4.03 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2015 | 3.63 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2014 | 4.01 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2014 | 4.19 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2014 | 4.24 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2014 | 3.95 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2013 | 4.04 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2013 | 4.16 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2013 | 4.21 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2013 | 4.01 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2012 | 4.08 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2012 | 4.26 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2012 | 4.16 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2012 | 3.97 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2011 | 3.96 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2011 | 4.09 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2011 | 3.93 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2011 | 2.99 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2010 | 2.90 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2010 | 2.84 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2010 | 2,805.00 |
| Mar 31, 2010 | 2.58 Bn |
| Dec 31, 2009 | 2.55 Bn |
| Sep 30, 2009 | 2.64 Bn |
| Jun 30, 2009 | 2.49 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2009 | 2.41 Bn |