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

Southwest Airlines has reported Operating Margin for 18 years, with the latest figure at 4.55% in Q1 2026.

• For the quarter ending Q1 2026, Operating Margin rose 802.0% year-over-year to 4.55%; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 stood at 3.4% (up 162.0% YoY), and the FY2025 full-year result was 1.53%, up 36.0% from the prior year.
• Operating Margin for Q1 2026 stood at 4.55%, down from 5.25% in the prior quarter.
• The five-year high for Operating Margin was 17.21% in Q2 2022, with the low at 6.24% in Q4 2022.
• Historically, Operating Margin has averaged 1.77% across 5 years, with a median of 1.79% in 2023.
• Annual changes were most pronounced in 2022 — Operating Margin slumped 1291 bps — and 2024, when it jumped 993 bps.
• Southwest Airlines' Operating Margin stood at 6.24% in 2022, then grew by 5 bps to 5.92% in 2023, then soared by 168 bps to 4.01% in 2024, then surged by 31 bps to 5.25% in 2025, then slipped by 13 bps to 4.55% in 2026.
• The last three Operating Margin figures came in at 4.55% (Q1 2026), 5.25% (Q4 2025), and 0.5% (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.