Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines' Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] came in at 8.21% for Q3 2026, up 6.16 percentage points from 2.05% a year earlier and up 1.75 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Powered by 
Analysis
Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Southwest Airlines' Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 2.24%, up 0.84 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] carries a five-year change of +19.59 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 1.40% in FY2024 (+0.52 pp), 0.88% in FY2023 (-2.89 pp), 3.77% in FY2022 (-2.51 pp) and 6.28% in FY2021 (+23.64 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure represents the highest quarterly Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] since Q1 2020.
- Year-over-year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] has increased for eight consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +3.13 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] over five years came in Q4 2021 (a gain of 19.79 percentage points), and the weakest in Q3 2023 (a drop of 4.86 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows LUV's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] at 6.46% (Q2 2026), 6.12% (Q1 2026) and 2.70% (Q4 2025) in the three quarters before Q3 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROIC (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 176.05 Bn | 168.30 Bn | - | 15.71% |
| 2 | United Parcel Service | 94.65 Bn | 71.47 Bn | - | 12.25% |
| 3 | Csx | 92.50 Bn | 87.72 Bn | - | 12.59% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 83.38 Bn | 82.42 Bn | - | 5.96% |
| 5 | Fedex | 75.65 Bn | 41.84 Bn | - | 7.49% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 73.28 Bn | 67.74 Bn | - | 9.67% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 59.50 Bn | 41.69 Bn | - | 10.82% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 38.72 Bn | -18.97 Bn | - | 8.90% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 35.42 Bn | 34.26 Bn | - | 25.01% |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 22.48 Bn | 8.51 Bn | - | 8.21% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 8.21% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 6.46% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 6.12% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 2.70% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 2.05% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 1.75% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 2.30% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 1.40% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | -1.96% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | -0.90% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 0.46% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 0.88% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 1.01% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 2.18% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 3.49% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 3.92% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 5.87% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 6.74% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 4.72% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 5.96% |
API Access
Southwest Airlines Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] 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-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-invested-capital-[roic]", "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-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();