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LUV Stock Forecast: Southwest Airlines Co. Price Predictions for 2026-2027

Last close, 3 Sept 2026
$39
+0.31% on the day

The 25 Wall Street analysts covering Southwest Airlines Co. hold a median 12-month price target of $50 — +29.1% from the last close. Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model, run across ~4,600 US stocks, ranks it 84 of 100 as at 2 Sept 2026 — inside the top quartile. Here, the model and the Street point the same way.

Market cap
$18.4B
Ticker Nerd rank
84 / 100
Median analyst target
$50
Analysts covering
25
Revenue$8.4B+16.4% y/y
Operating income$285.0M
Net income$233.0M
Free cash flow−$288.0M
Quarterly, 8 quarters to 30 June 2026 · latest quarter's figure shown
Total return, dividends reinvested
1W
−2.6%
1M
−17.7%
YTD
−5.5%
1Y
+21.4%
From 52W high
−28.7%
From 52W low
+32.2%
$29
$54
52-week range, adjusted closes · the dot is the last close
Ticker Nerd rank

LUV stock analysis: one number for the whole business

Consensus tells you what everyone already believes. The model scores Southwest Airlines Co. on its factor families — the same systematic rank behind the Ticker Nerd portfolio.

Where the model ranks itAs at 2 Sept 2026
84 / 100

Percentile across ~4,600 US stocks on Ticker Nerd’s systematic factor model. Higher is better. How the model is built and tested

Volatility
85
Quality
81
Value
81
Growth
78
Momentum
69
Revisions
67
Issuance
63
Accruals
60
Size
11

Volatility (85): The share price has been relatively steady.

Accruals (60): A large share of reported profit has not shown up as cash, or the balance sheet is expanding quickly — both tend to unwind.

Size (11): Larger than most of the companies we track — more scrutinised, less often mispriced.

Built and run by Aslam Ghouse, an ex-Goldman Sachs quant trader with fourteen years in markets.

Wall Street

LUV stock forecast 2026-2027: analyst price targets & predictions

The bullish and bearish analyst opinions on LUV, reported as data — targets and ratings, the market's view beside the model's.

Share price and the analyst range, 12 monthsAdjusted close, US dollars
$30$40$50$60$70Oct 25Jan 26Apr 26Jul 26LUVHigh $67Median $50Low $35

Price targets and ratings are third-party analyst estimates, reported here as data. They are not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Data provided by Twelve Data

What Wall Street says25 analysts
11 Buy10 Hold4 Sell
Low $35Median $50High $67

The green dot is the last close — the median target sits +29.1% from it.

Recent analyst actionsNewest first

Of the 20 most recent actions, 7 moved their price target up and 4 moved it down.

DateFirmActionRatingTarget
24 Aug 2026Raymond JamesMaintainsOutperform$60 → $54
24 Aug 2026TD CowenMaintainsBuy$53 → $48
24 July 2026BMO CapitalMaintainsOutperform—
24 July 2026BMO CapitalMaintainsOutperform$59 → $60
24 July 2026CitigroupMaintainsNeutral—
24 July 2026CitigroupMaintainsNeutral$55 → $50
24 July 2026JP MorganMaintainsOverweight—
24 July 2026JP MorganMaintainsOverweight$60 → $59
7 July 2026SusquehannaMaintainsNeutral—
7 July 2026SusquehannaMaintainsNeutral$44 → $55
6 July 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainsOverweight—
6 July 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainsOverweight$60 → $65
6 July 2026Raymond JamesMaintainsOutperform—
6 July 2026Raymond JamesMaintainsOutperform$55 → $60
2 July 2026BMO CapitalMaintainsOutperform$45 → $59
2 July 2026BMO CapitalMaintainsOutperform—
2 July 2026Goldman SachsMaintainsSell—
2 July 2026Goldman SachsMaintainsSell$30 → $35
2 July 2026TD CowenMaintainsBuy—
2 July 2026TD CowenMaintainsBuy$47 → $53

Price targets and ratings are third-party analyst estimates, reported here as data. They are not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Market Radar

This page is one stock. Monday covers all of them.

Computed off the Friday close and sent before the US open.

Market Radar reports the week’s largest rank changes across roughly 4,600 US stocks, the factor behind each one, and where the market went. LUV appears on the weeks it earns a place.

Free, every Monday. Unsubscribe any time.

Performance

LUV vs the S&P 500

Both lines are total return — dividends reinvested — so the comparison is honest on both sides.

Over the twelve months to 3 Sept 2026, Southwest Airlines Co. returned +21.4% against +21.4% for the S&P 500, dividends included.

LUV vs S&P 500, last 12 monthsTotal return, rebased to 100
100120140160180Oct 25Jan 26Apr 26Jul 26LUVS&P 500

Download this chart as an image — free to reuse; link this page as the source.

Data provided by Twelve Data

Estimates

LUV analyst estimate revisions

Not the forecast itself — the direction analysts are revising it. Revision direction is one of the model's factor families.

Which way the estimates are movingNext fiscal year
EPS revision, 90 days
+25.4%
Analysts raising
16
Analysts cutting
4
Fundamentals

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) financial data

A margin means little on its own. Each bar marks where the figure sits across the whole US universe we score.

Valuation
Trailing P/E
23.6×

Cheaper than 33% of US stocks

Price / sales
0.6×

Cheaper than 79% of US stocks

Price / book
2.6×

Cheaper than 38% of US stocks

EV / EBITDA
9.4×

Cheaper than 40% of US stocks

Growth & margins
Revenue growth (YoY)
16.4%

Higher than 65% of US stocks

Earnings growth (YoY)
9.4%

Higher than 47% of US stocks

Gross margin
16.4%

Higher than 16% of US stocks

Operating margin
3.4%

Higher than 51% of US stocks

Net margin
2.8%

Higher than 54% of US stocks

Returns & dividend
Return on equity
11.1%

Higher than 66% of US stocks

Return on assets
2.3%

Higher than 61% of US stocks

Dividend yield
1.9%

Higher than 43% of US dividend payers

Bars mark the percentile across the ~4,600 US stocks Ticker Nerd covers, among those reporting the figure.

Key statistics

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) statistics: revenue, profit & scale

The headline figures, each with its date. Every row carries its own link — cite it straight from here.

  • Southwest Airlines Co. has a market value of $18.4B and an enterprise value of $21.9B.

  • Revenue in the twelve months to 30 June 2026: $30.1B. The latest quarter grew 16.4% year on year.

  • Net income over the same four quarters: $837.0M, a 2.8% net margin.

  • Diluted earnings per share, trailing twelve months: $1.63.

  • Free cash flow in the twelve months to 30 June 2026: −$455.0M, after $451.0M of capital spending.

  • Southwest Airlines Co. spent $1.6B on share buybacks and $370.0M on dividends in the twelve months to 30 June 2026.

  • Shares outstanding: 515.6M.

  • Trailing P/E: 23.6×; forward P/E: 7.7× — the forward figure prices analyst consensus estimates, not reported earnings.

  • Forward dividend yield: 1.91%, paying out 45% of earnings.

  • Southwest Airlines Co. employs 73,456 people — $409K of revenue per employee.

Statement figures: company filings via Twelve Data, four quarters to 30 June 2026 · market figures as at 4 Sept 2026

Data provided by Twelve Data

Peers

LUV vs competitors

The nearest names by industry and size, scored by the same model — like for like.

Its peer group, ranked by the same modelAirlines
CompanyMarket capTKN rank
LUVSouthwest Airlines Co.$18.4B
84
UALUnited Airlines Holdings, Inc.$35.1B
66
AALAmerican Airlines Group, Inc.$8.7B
56
DALDelta Air Lines, Inc.$51.4B
80
CPACopa Holdings SA$5.3B
73
ALKAlaska Air Group, Inc.$4.6B
26
SKYWSkyWest, Inc.$3.7B
81

Look up any of the roughly 4,600 stocks we score.

The rank is the raw material. Whether the rules would actually own Southwest Airlines Co. — and when they’d sell — is the membership. See the Ticker Nerd 20 →

News

Latest LUV news & analysis

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES TO PRESENT AT THE MORGAN STANLEY 14TH ANNUAL LAGUNA CONFERENCE

PRNewsWire · 3 Sept 2026neutral

Southwest Airlines announced that EVP and CFO Tom Doxey will participate in a fireside chat at the Morgan Stanley 14th Annual Laguna Conference on September 16 at 12:20 pm PST. The announcement was made via PRNewswire from Dallas.

Why it matters — The CFO's scheduled appearance gives LUV watchers an opportunity to hear directly from company leadership at a major investment conference.

Airlines, Cruises, Casinos: Are Things Actually Looking Up?

24/7 Wall Street · 3 Sept 2026neutral

The article examines how airline, cruise line, and casino stocks fared after the peak travel season, noting that the three sectors came out in distinctly different positions. It questions whether travel-related businesses are actually showing signs of improvement.

Why it matters — A LUV watcher would care because the piece assesses how the peak travel season affected the airline sector, which is directly relevant to Southwest Airlines' performance.

Southwest to debut airport lounges in four cities, with more to come

CNBC · 2 Sept 2026neutral

Southwest Airlines announced that its first airport lounges will open next year in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Nashville. The carrier is partnering with Chase and plans to offer lounge access through a new premium Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card expected to launch in 2027.

Why it matters — This marks Southwest's expansion into premium airport offerings and a new partnership with Chase, signaling strategic moves that could affect the carrier's customer experience and ancillary revenue streams.

Southwest to launch first-ever airport lounges to broaden premium appeal

Reuters · 2 Sept 2026positive

Southwest Airlines announced plans to open its first-ever airport lounges as part of a broader effort to attract higher-spending premium travelers and diversify its revenue streams.

Why it matters — For LUV watchers, this marks a strategic move by the carrier to broaden its premium appeal and create additional revenue sources beyond its traditional model.

Southwest Airlines' First-Ever Lounges to Debut in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Nashville; with at Least Seven More Planned

PRNewsWire · 2 Sept 2026positive

Southwest Airlines announced plans for its first-ever airport lounge network, with initial lounges set to debut in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Nashville, and at least seven more locations planned. The company described the initiative as the latest step in elevating the customer experience.

Why it matters — The lounge network represents a significant expansion of Southwest's customer experience offerings, which could help the carrier differentiate itself and attract travelers in competitive markets.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about LUV stock

What is the LUV stock price forecast for 2026-2027?

The 25 Wall Street analysts covering Southwest Airlines Co. have a median 12-month price target of $50, with estimates ranging from $35 to $67. These are third-party analyst estimates, not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Is LUV stock a buy right now?

Of the 25 analysts covering Southwest Airlines Co., 11 rate it a Buy, 10 a Hold and 4 a Sell. Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model ranks Southwest Airlines Co. 84 out of 100 across roughly 4,600 US stocks as at 2 Sept 2026. None of this is personal advice — it does not consider your circumstances.

How does Ticker Nerd's model rank LUV?

As at 2 Sept 2026, Southwest Airlines Co. ranks 84 out of 100 on Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model — a percentile across roughly 4,600 US stocks, built from its factor families. Its strongest factor family is Volatility (85 of 100).

Will LUV stock go up?

No one can know that. What the data says: the median 12-month target from 25 analysts implies +29.1% from the last close, and Ticker Nerd's factor model ranks Southwest Airlines Co. 84 out of 100 as at 2 Sept 2026. Analyst targets are third-party estimates and frequently wrong; none of this is personal advice.

What is the LUV stock forecast for 2030?

No analyst covering Southwest Airlines Co. publishes a 2030 price target — Wall Street targets run 12 to 18 months out. Sites quoting a 2030 price for LUV are extrapolating price history, which says nothing about the business. The furthest attributed numbers are the current analyst targets: $35 to $67 over the next 12 months.

How has LUV stock performed over the past year?

Southwest Airlines Co. returned +21.4% over the 12 months to 3 Sept 2026, with dividends reinvested. Past performance does not indicate future returns.

What does Southwest Airlines Co. do?

Southwest Airlines Co. is a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation across the United States and select near-international markets.

What is the latest news on LUV?

The most recent item we track (PRNewsWire, 3 Sept 2026): "SOUTHWEST AIRLINES TO PRESENT AT THE MORGAN STANLEY 14TH ANNUAL LAGUNA CONFERENCE". Southwest Airlines announced that EVP and CFO Tom Doxey will participate in a fireside chat at the Morgan Stanley 14th Annual Laguna Conference on September 16 at 12:20 pm PST. The announcement was made via PRNewswire from Dallas.

Company

About Southwest Airlines Co.

Southwest Airlines Co. is a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation across the United States and select near-international markets. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, it operates a point-to-point network designed for frequent short- and medium-haul travel, with nonstop service connecting major cities, leisure destinations, and regional markets. The company offers a range of fare products, along with services such as checked baggage options, EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation for pets and unaccompanied minors. Southwest Airlines Co. also supports travelers through its Rapid Rewards loyalty program and vacation packages, making it part of both the airline and broader travel services markets. Its all-Boeing 737 fleet and focus on streamlined operations help define its role as a major low-cost carrier in the North American aviation industry.

CEO Mr. Robert E. Jordan · 73,456 employees · United States · https://www.southwest.com