Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines' Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] came in at 6.46% for Q2 2026, up 4.71 percentage points from 1.75% a year earlier and up 0.33 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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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 +19.63 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 (-2.52 pp) and 6.29% in FY2021 (+23.68 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure represents the highest quarterly Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] since Q2 2022.
- Year-over-year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] has increased for seven consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +1.99 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 19.80 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 6.12% (Q1 2026), 2.70% (Q4 2025) and 2.05% (Q3 2025) in the three quarters before Q2 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROIC (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 165.28 Bn | 159.81 Bn | - | 15.51% |
| 2 | Csx | 87.86 Bn | 84.08 Bn | - | 11.65% |
| 3 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 75.56 Bn | 75.27 Bn | - | 5.85% |
| 4 | Norfolk Southern | 71.27 Bn | 65.91 Bn | - | 9.62% |
| 5 | United Parcel Service | 69.70 Bn | 46.62 Bn | - | 12.85% |
| 6 | Fedex | 68.71 Bn | 34.65 Bn | - | 7.44% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 55.32 Bn | 37.50 Bn | - | 11.82% |
| 8 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 37.44 Bn | 36.71 Bn | - | 24.14% |
| 9 | United Airlines Holdings | 36.52 Bn | -19.85 Bn | - | 9.15% |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 20.78 Bn | 7.41 Bn | - | 6.46% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| 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% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 0.00% |
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();