Southwest Airlines (LUV) Competitors $33.81 -0.27 (-0.79%) Closing price 07/7/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$33.68 -0.13 (-0.38%) As of 07/7/2025 07:53 PM 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 contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk and analyst recommendations. Which has stronger valuation and earnings, 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$27.48B0.70$465M$0.8539.78American Airlines Group$54.21B0.14$846M$0.9012.88 Does the media prefer LUV or AAL? In the previous week, Southwest Airlines had 2 more articles in the media than American Airlines Group. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Southwest Airlines and 20 mentions for American Airlines Group. American Airlines Group's average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat Southwest Airlines' score of 0.30 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 1 Very Positive mention(s) 8 Positive mention(s) 10 Neutral mention(s) 2 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral American Airlines Group 14 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 4 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is LUV or AAL more profitable? Southwest Airlines has a net margin of 1.98% compared to American Airlines Group's net margin of 1.26%. Southwest Airlines' return on equity of 7.27% beat American Airlines Group's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Southwest Airlines1.98% 7.27% 2.15% American Airlines Group 1.26%-26.59%1.91% Do insiders & institutionals believe in LUV or AAL? 80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of American Airlines Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Which has more risk & volatility, LUV or AAL? Southwest Airlines has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Do analysts rate LUV or AAL? Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus target price of $32.31, indicating a potential downside of 4.43%. American Airlines Group has a consensus target price of $15.84, indicating a potential upside of 36.69%. 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 5 Sell rating(s) 8 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.00American Airlines Group 1 Sell rating(s) 7 Hold rating(s) 9 Buy rating(s) 2 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.63 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$19.42B$7.42B$7.19B$20.71BDividend Yield2.11%8,200.04%914.35%3.72%P/E Ratio39.7810.1912.8727.80Price / Sales0.701,771.35319.0947.18Price / Cash9.075.027.5218.22Price / Book1.962.522.094.59Net Income$465M$607.36M$563.51M$982.91M7 Day Performance1.20%1.83%1.22%0.65%1 Month Performance0.96%3.60%3.74%4.26%1 Year Performance23.66%51.40%3.22%13.93% Southwest Airlines Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)LUVSouthwest Airlines3.9184 of 5 stars$33.81-0.8%$32.31-4.4%+25.5%$19.42B$27.48B39.7872,450Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastAALAmerican Airlines Group4.3938 of 5 stars$11.26-0.2%$15.68+39.3%+5.0%$7.43B$54.21B12.51133,300News CoverageAnalyst ForecastALGTAllegiant Travel4.7105 of 5 stars$55.01-1.3%$63.70+15.8%+22.3%$1.00B$2.51B-4.755,991Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastGap DownCHRWC.H. Robinson Worldwide4.7911 of 5 stars$95.41-1.3%$114.52+20.0%+11.8%$11.33B$17.72B22.8313,781JBLUJetBlue Airways2.0037 of 5 stars$4.23-1.2%$5.16+22.0%-26.4%$1.50B$9.28B-5.1622,793LSTRLandstar System4.1717 of 5 stars$139.02-0.3%$150.38+8.2%-20.9%$4.86B$4.82B27.531,441SKYWSkyWest4.6294 of 5 stars$103.15-0.2%$120.67+17.0%+31.1%$4.17B$3.53B11.8014,610UALUnited Airlines4.7099 of 5 stars$79.75+0.7%$104.64+31.2%+72.6%$26.05B$57.06B7.2792,800Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastALKAlaska Air Group4.6665 of 5 stars$49.46+0.2%$66.83+35.1%+32.1%$6.07B$12.64B17.9933,941Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastCPACopa4.8097 of 5 stars$109.37+1.2%$153.00+39.9%+19.5%$4.50B$3.44B7.477,909DALDelta Air Lines4.3181 of 5 stars$49.31-0.6%$61.67+25.1%+8.8%$32.20B$61.64B8.7495,000Trending NewsUpcoming EarningsAnalyst Forecast 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 7/8/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersEveryone’s watching Nvidia right now. Here’s why I’m excited.So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably saw the news… Nvidia just signed a $7 BILLION deal...Timothy Sykes | SponsoredF1 Engineering Powers This Electric Marine MotorThe future of marine propulsion has arrived - powered by F-1 grade engineering. 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