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

Key Points

• Southwest Airlines updated its Q3 2026 EPS guidance to $0.50-$0.75, which brackets but is slightly below the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.72.
• The company also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $3.25-$4.25, signaling management's broader outlook for the year.
• The stock traded lower on the day, and analyst sentiment remains mixed: Southwest has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.2%

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

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.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. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd now owns 2,800,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $115,724,000 after buying an additional 1,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 315.3% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,247,837 shares of the airline's stock valued at $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 947,346 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 263.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,023,730 shares of the airline's stock valued at $42,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,839 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 116.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,182,916 shares of the airline's stock valued at $38,539,000 after acquiring an additional 636,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline's stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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.

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