Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026)
Southwest Airlines (LUV) posted Return on Sales [ROS] of 4.50% for Q3 2026, up 4.00 percentage points from 0.50% a year earlier and up 1.12 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Powered by 
Analysis
Southwest Airlines (LUV) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For the trailing twelve months through Sep 30, 2026, Return on Sales [ROS] at Southwest Airlines was 4.39%, up 3.25 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 1.53%, up 0.36 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Return on Sales [ROS] shows a five-year change of +43.70 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In prior years, Southwest Airlines' Return on Sales [ROS] was 1.17% in FY2024 (+0.31 pp), 0.86% in FY2023 (-3.41 pp), 4.27% in FY2022 (-6.63 pp) and 10.90% in FY2021 (+53.07 pp).
- Quarterly Return on Sales [ROS] has run from a low of -6.24% in Q4 2022 to a high of 17.21% in Q2 2022 over five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Return on Sales [ROS] has increased in each of the last four quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +2.98 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for Return on Sales [ROS] in the past five years was Q4 2021, with a gain of 61.93 percentage points; the weakest was Q1 2022, with a drop of 12.91 percentage points.
- According to Business Quant data, Return on Sales [ROS] for the three prior quarters was 3.38% (Q2 2026), 4.55% (Q1 2026) and 5.25% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROS (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 172.47 Bn | 164.72 Bn | - | 40.89% |
| 2 | United Parcel Service | 92.24 Bn | 69.07 Bn | - | 7.63% |
| 3 | Csx | 90.81 Bn | 86.03 Bn | - | 39.08% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 81.61 Bn | 80.64 Bn | - | 35.25% |
| 5 | Fedex | 72.98 Bn | 39.17 Bn | - | 6.20% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 71.87 Bn | 66.34 Bn | - | 32.61% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 57.23 Bn | 39.41 Bn | - | 7.20% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 36.65 Bn | -21.05 Bn | - | 8.09% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.12 Bn | 32.96 Bn | - | 28.46% |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 21.75 Bn | 7.77 Bn | - | 4.50% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 4.50% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 3.38% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 4.55% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 5.25% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 0.50% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 3.11% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | -3.47% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 4.01% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 0.55% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 5.41% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -6.21% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | -5.92% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 1.79% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 11.30% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | -4.98% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | -6.24% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 6.35% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 17.21% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -3.22% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 3.86% |
API Access
Southwest Airlines Return on Sales [ROS] 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-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-sales-[ros]", "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-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=LUV&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();