LUV vs UAL
Southwest Airlines Co. and United Airlines Holdings, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | LUV | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $28.1B | $59.1B |
| Net income | $441.0M | $3.4B |
| Gross margin | · | · |
| Net margin | 1.6% | 5.7% |
| Return on equity | 4.8% | 24.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.79 | $10.20 |
| Dividend / share | $0.72 | · |
| Payout ratio | 90.5% | · |
| Free cash flow | $-831.0M | $2.6B |
| Equity | $8.0B | $15.3B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.21× | 1.00× |
| Current ratio | 0.52× | 0.65× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 25.4% | 30.9% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | · |
UAL bills 2.1× the revenue of LUV, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (5.7% against 1.6%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | LUV | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $28.1B | $59.1B |
| FY2024 | $27.5B | $57.1B |
| FY2023 | $26.1B | $53.7B |
| FY2022 | $23.8B | $45.0B |
| FY2021 | $15.8B | $24.6B |
| FY2020 | $9.0B | $15.4B |
| FY2019 | $22.4B | $43.3B |
| FY2018 | $22.0B | $41.3B |
| FY2017 | $21.1B | $37.8B |
| FY2016 | $20.3B | $36.6B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | LUV | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $441.0M | $3.4B |
| FY2024 | $465.0M | $3.1B |
| FY2023 | $465.0M | $2.6B |
| FY2022 | $539.0M | $737.0M |
| FY2021 | $977.0M | $-2.0B |
| FY2020 | $-3.1B | $-7.1B |
| FY2019 | $2.3B | $3.0B |
| FY2018 | $2.5B | $2.1B |
| FY2017 | $3.4B | $2.1B |
| FY2016 | $2.2B | $2.2B |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$31,007,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2024 | −$29,580,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2023 | −$27,626,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2022 | −$21,141,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2021 | −$8,844,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2020 | −$6,307,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2019 | −$20,831,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2018 | −$19,338,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2017 | −$16,638,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2016 | −$16,269,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2015 | −$18,044,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2014 | −$20,296,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2013 | −$20,580,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2012 | −$20,064,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2011 | −$21,452,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2010 | −$11,221,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2009 | −$5,985,000,000 | UAL |
| FY2008 | −$9,171,000,000 | UAL |
UAL has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 18 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −4.1 pp | UAL |
| FY2024 | −3.8 pp | UAL |
| FY2023 | −3.1 pp | UAL |
| FY2022 | +0.6 pp | LUV |
| FY2021 | +14.2 pp | LUV |
| FY2020 | +12.1 pp | LUV |
| FY2019 | +3.3 pp | LUV |
| FY2018 | +6.1 pp | LUV |
| FY2017 | +10.2 pp | LUV |
| FY2016 | +4.6 pp | LUV |
| FY2015 | −8.4 pp | UAL |
| FY2014 | +3.2 pp | LUV |
| FY2013 | +2.8 pp | LUV |
| FY2012 | +4.4 pp | LUV |
| FY2011 | −1.1 pp | UAL |
| FY2010 | +2.7 pp | LUV |
| FY2009 | +4.9 pp | LUV |
| FY2008 | +28.3 pp | LUV |
The higher net margin has changed hands between LUV and UAL over this period.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
UAL's net margin has been more volatile than LUV's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 14.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 10.0.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between LUV and UAL over these 18 fiscal years — LUV led in 13 and UAL in 5.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
UAL's return on equity has been more volatile than LUV's over the 15 comparable fiscal years — 47.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 16.6.
15 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between LUV and UAL over these 15 fiscal years — LUV led in 6 and UAL in 9.
15 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.