Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines (LUV) posted Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] of 8.35% for Q3 2026, up 6.55 percentage points from 1.80% a year earlier and up 2.03 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Southwest Airlines' Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] came in at 2.09%, up 0.68 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] shows a five-year change of +18.87 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In prior years, Southwest Airlines' Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] was 1.41% in FY2024 (+0.46 pp), 0.95% in FY2023 (-3.05 pp), 3.99% in FY2022 (-2.55 pp) and 6.55% in FY2021 (+23.33 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure stands as the highest quarterly Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] since Q1 2020.
- On a year-over-year basis, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] has increased in each of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +3.06 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] in the past five years was Q4 2021, with a gain of 20.08 percentage points; the weakest was Q2 2023, with a drop of 5.28 percentage points.
- According to Business Quant data, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] for the three prior quarters was 6.32% (Q2 2026), 5.87% (Q1 2026) and 2.41% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROCE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 175.32 Bn | 167.57 Bn | - | 15.93% |
| 2 | United Parcel Service | 94.41 Bn | 71.23 Bn | - | 11.55% |
| 3 | Csx | 92.11 Bn | 87.33 Bn | - | 13.38% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 82.90 Bn | 81.93 Bn | - | 7.22% |
| 5 | Fedex | 75.65 Bn | 41.84 Bn | - | 7.01% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 73.02 Bn | 67.48 Bn | - | 9.77% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 59.68 Bn | 41.87 Bn | - | 10.05% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 38.90 Bn | -18.80 Bn | - | 8.46% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 35.16 Bn | 34.00 Bn | - | 29.43% |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 22.48 Bn | 8.51 Bn | - | 8.35% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 8.35% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 6.32% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 5.87% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 2.41% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 1.80% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 1.58% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 2.51% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 1.46% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | -1.66% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | -1.30% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 0.48% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 0.92% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 0.99% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 2.14% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 3.66% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 4.02% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 5.98% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 7.42% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 5.13% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 6.25% |
API Access
Southwest Airlines Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] 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=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-capital-employed-[roce]", "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=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();