Southwest Airlines (LUV) Operating Income (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines (LUV) posted Operating Income of $379 million for Q3 2026, up 982.9% from $35 million a year earlier and up 33.0% from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Southwest Airlines (LUV) Operating Income (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For the trailing twelve months through Sep 30, 2026, Operating Income at Southwest Airlines was $1.39 billion, up 339.7% year-over-year; for FY2025, it was $428 million, up 33.3% from FY2024.
- In prior years, Southwest Airlines' Operating Income was $321 million in FY2024 (+43.3%), $224 million in FY2023 (-78.0%), $1.02 billion in FY2022 (-40.9%) and $1.72 billion in FY2021.
- Quarterly Operating Income has run from a low of -$404 million in Q4 2023 to a high of $1.16 billion in Q2 2022 over five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Operating Income increased in three of the last five quarters, with growth averaging 199.8%.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for Operating Income in the past five years was Q3 2026, with growth of 982.9%; the weakest was Q3 2023, with a decline of 70.4%.
- According to Business Quant data, Operating Income for the three prior quarters was $285 million (Q2 2026), $330 million (Q1 2026) and $391 million (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Op. Inc (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 174.04 Bn | 166.29 Bn | - | 2.94 Bn |
| 2 | Csx | 93.63 Bn | 88.85 Bn | - | 1.57 Bn |
| 3 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 78.71 Bn | 78.42 Bn | - | 1.06 Bn |
| 4 | United Parcel Service | 75.71 Bn | 52.63 Bn | - | 930.00 Mn |
| 5 | Norfolk Southern | 74.09 Bn | 68.55 Bn | - | 1.15 Bn |
| 6 | Fedex | 70.69 Bn | 36.64 Bn | - | 1.55 Bn |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 50.49 Bn | 32.68 Bn | - | 1.45 Bn |
| 8 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 37.91 Bn | 37.17 Bn | - | 465.30 Mn |
| 9 | United Airlines Holdings | 31.82 Bn | -25.88 Bn | - | 1.45 Bn |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 20.44 Bn | 6.46 Bn | - | 379.00 Mn |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 379.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 285.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 330.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 391.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 35.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 225.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2025 | -223.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 278.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 38.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 398.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -393.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2023 | -404.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 117.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 795.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2023 | -284.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2022 | -385.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 395.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 1.16 Bn |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -151.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 195.00 Mn |
API Access
Southwest Airlines Operating Income API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-income&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-income", "ticker": "LUV", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-income&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();