Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Releases Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) issued an update on its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.500-0.750 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.720. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southwest Airlines also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.250-4.250 EPS.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.2%

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.61. The company had a trading volume of 6,037,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,237,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.22. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.43. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,063 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 83,070 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the airline’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,562 shares of the airline’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.