Southwest Airlines (LUV) Competitors $29.56 -0.16 (-0.52%) Closing price 08/7/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$29.75 +0.20 (+0.66%) As of 08:32 AM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock LUV vs. AAL, ALGT, CHRW, JBLU, LSTR, SKYW, UAL, ALK, CPA, and DALShould you be buying Southwest Airlines stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Southwest Airlines include American Airlines Group (AAL), Allegiant Travel (ALGT), C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Landstar System (LSTR), SkyWest (SKYW), United Airlines (UAL), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Copa (CPA), and Delta Air Lines (DAL). These companies are all part of the "transportation" sector. Southwest Airlines vs. Its Competitors American Airlines Group Allegiant Travel C.H. Robinson Worldwide JetBlue Airways Landstar System SkyWest United Airlines Alaska Air Group Copa Delta Air Lines Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings. Which has more volatility & risk, LUV or AAL? Southwest Airlines has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Is LUV or AAL more profitable? Southwest Airlines has a net margin of 1.43% compared to American Airlines Group's net margin of 1.05%. Southwest Airlines' return on equity of 6.27% beat American Airlines Group's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Southwest Airlines1.43% 6.27% 1.83% American Airlines Group 1.05%-24.55%1.68% Which has preferable earnings & valuation, LUV or AAL? American Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Southwest Airlines. American Airlines Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioSouthwest Airlines$27.48B0.56$465M$0.6644.78American Airlines Group$54.21B0.14$846M$0.8014.66 Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of LUV or AAL? 80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Do analysts recommend LUV or AAL? Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus price target of $33.06, suggesting a potential upside of 11.87%. American Airlines Group has a consensus price target of $16.76, suggesting a potential upside of 42.92%. Given American Airlines Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe American Airlines Group is more favorable than Southwest Airlines.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Southwest Airlines 6 Sell rating(s) 9 Hold rating(s) 4 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 1.89American Airlines Group 1 Sell rating(s) 7 Hold rating(s) 9 Buy rating(s) 2 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.63 Does the media prefer LUV or AAL? In the previous week, Southwest Airlines had 12 more articles in the media than American Airlines Group. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Southwest Airlines and 15 mentions for American Airlines Group. American Airlines Group's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Southwest Airlines' score of 0.91 indicating that American Airlines Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Southwest Airlines 16 Very Positive mention(s) 2 Positive mention(s) 5 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 1 Very Negative mention(s) Positive American Airlines Group 11 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 1 Neutral mention(s) 1 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive SummaryAmerican Airlines Group beats Southwest Airlines on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Southwest Airlines News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for LUV and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding LUV and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart LUV vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricSouthwest AirlinesTRANS IndustryTransportation SectorNYSE ExchangeMarket Cap$15.60B$7.79B$7.23B$20.71BDividend Yield2.42%6,150.63%706.08%3.67%P/E Ratio44.789.8913.4228.65Price / Sales0.562,869.40532.5069.00Price / Cash7.915.017.7923.59Price / Book1.942.662.124.32Net Income$465M$587.12M$571.16M$995.66M7 Day Performance-0.86%4.79%2.74%1.91%1 Month Performance-13.00%11.15%0.24%-0.54%1 Year Performance17.19%56.32%3.85%14.76% Southwest Airlines Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)LUVSouthwest Airlines4.7006 of 5 stars$29.56-0.5%$33.06+11.9%+21.5%$15.60B$27.48B44.7872,450Analyst ForecastInsider TradeAnalyst RevisionAALAmerican Airlines Group4.1832 of 5 stars$11.61+0.9%$16.76+44.5%+26.7%$7.65B$54.21B14.51133,300Positive NewsALGTAllegiant Travel4.6579 of 5 stars$50.98+0.7%$65.11+27.7%+26.5%$928.20M$2.51B-4.405,991Earnings ReportAnalyst ForecastAnalyst RevisionCHRWC.H. Robinson Worldwide4.2818 of 5 stars$101.75-0.9%$114.29+12.3%+20.5%$12.08B$17.72B24.3313,781JBLUJetBlue Airways3.0452 of 5 stars$4.38-0.1%$5.16+17.9%-26.4%$1.55B$9.28B-5.3422,793News CoveragePositive NewsLSTRLandstar System4.5334 of 5 stars$141.20-1.0%$151.31+7.2%-31.5%$4.93B$4.82B27.951,441SKYWSkyWest4.2212 of 5 stars$117.54+4.7%$126.75+7.8%+58.7%$4.73B$3.53B11.8914,610UALUnited Airlines4.7124 of 5 stars$92.66+1.7%$111.43+20.3%+127.0%$29.98B$57.06B9.28107,300Trending NewsALKAlaska Air Group4.8486 of 5 stars$54.22+4.0%$67.42+24.3%+59.0%$6.65B$13.45B22.0133,941Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastCPACopa4.6812 of 5 stars$109.17-0.9%$152.00+39.2%+40.5%$4.49B$3.44B7.447,909Trending NewsEarnings ReportDALDelta Air Lines4.7122 of 5 stars$55.66+1.5%$66.21+19.0%+43.6%$36.30B$61.64B8.06100,000 Related Companies and Tools Related Companies American Airlines Group Alternatives Allegiant Travel Alternatives C.H. Robinson Worldwide Alternatives JetBlue Airways Alternatives Landstar System Alternatives SkyWest Alternatives United Airlines Alternatives Alaska Air Group Alternatives Copa Alternatives Delta Air Lines Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NYSE:LUV) was last updated on 8/8/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersAltucher: Trump’s Great Gain is startingNew Hampshire just launched a Strategic Crypto Reserve — and James Altucher says it’s the first sign that “Tru...Paradigm Press | SponsoredBREAKING: The House just passed 3 pro-crypto bills!THREE pro-crypto bills just passed the House! Now, experts believe altcoin season is officially here. 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