Southwest Airlines (LUV) Earnings Dates, Call Summary & Reports

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Earnings Data

Report Date

Jul 23, 2026

Before Open (Confirmed)

Period Ending

2026 (Q2)

Consensus EPS Forecast

0.47

Last Year’s EPS

0.43

Same Quarter Last Year

Analyst Consensus

Moderate Buy

Based on 19 Analysts Ratings

Earnings Call Summary

Q1 2026

Earnings Call Date:Apr 22, 2026|

% Change Since:

Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive

The call emphasized substantial execution wins: a clear financial turnaround (positive EPS vs. loss last year), record revenues and unit-revenue strength, strong cash generation, rapid customer adoption of new products, margin expansion, and continued operational reliability. Those positive developments are tempered by a meaningful and volatile fuel cost spike that materially pressures margins and prompted management not to revise full-year EPS guidance; there are also investor questions about certain accounting changes (ATL) and ongoing network adjustments. On balance, the transformation appears to be working and driving durable improvements, but short‑term outlook uncertainty is elevated because of fuel.

Company Guidance

Southwest guided to second‑quarter EPS of $0.35–$0.65 using an average fuel assumption of $4.10–$4.15/gal (forward curve as of April 16), and expects Q2 unit revenue growth of 16.5%–18.5% year‑over‑year; Tom said Q2 CASM‑X should rise 3.5%–4% on roughly 0.5% capacity growth at the midpoint. Management left the full‑year adjusted EPS target of $4 unchanged for now but declined to update it given fuel and macro uncertainty, and now expects full‑year capacity growth of approximately 2% (down from prior 2%–3% at the top end). For context they highlighted Q1 results that underpin the outlook: Q1 EPS $0.45, RASM/unit revenue +11.2% YoY, operating margin 4.6% (up 8.1 pts YoY), CASM‑X +2.3% on ASMs +1.5%, operating cash flow $1.4B (+65% YoY), liquidity $4.8B and leverage ~2.2x; operational/product targets include Starlink on ≥300 aircraft by year‑end and ~2/3 of the fleet with in‑seat power, and $1.25B of buybacks YTD with $450M remaining.

Quarterly EPS Turnaround

Q1 EPS of $0.45 vs a year-ago loss of $0.26 (GAAP) and adjusted loss of $0.13, representing a material year-over-year improvement; management notes this result despite a $0.22 EPS fuel headwind in the quarter.

Operating Margin Expansion

Q1 operating margin improved to 4.6%, an 8.1 percentage-point increase year-over-year (6.6 points on an adjusted basis), described as top-tier among large U.S. carriers.

Record Revenues and RASM Strength

Operating revenue reached a Q1 record of $7.2 billion; RASM (unit revenue) grew 11.2% year-over-year in Q1, with management guiding Q2 unit revenue growth of 16.5%–18.5% (management referenced ~17.5% in commentary). March was the largest operating revenue month in company history.

Strong Cash Generation and Capital Returns

Generated $1.4 billion in operating cash flow in Q1, up 65% year-over-year; ended the quarter with $4.8 billion in liquidity and reported share repurchases of $1.25 billion and $93 million in dividends (with $450 million remaining buyback authorization).

Successful Product Adoption & Ancillary Upsell

Customer buy-up from base product rose from ~20% in 2025 to ~60% in Q1 2026; managed corporate revenue increased 16% in Q1 and 25% in March; Rapid Rewards enrollments up 37% YoY and customers earning tier status up 62% YoY; ancillary upsell performance met expectations and cash sales accelerated relative to redemptions.

Cost Discipline and CASM-X Control

CASM-X rose 2.3% year-over-year in Q1 on a 1.5% capacity increase, coming in well below the prior guide of 3.5% and reflecting structural cost improvements across people, technology and maintenance buckets.

Operational Reliability & Product Enhancements

Operations delivered industry-leading reliability and on-time performance (including successful rollout of assigned seating and extra legroom on Jan 27); announced Starlink partnership (targeting Starlink on ≥300 aircraft by year-end) and in-seat power on roughly two-thirds of the fleet.

Balance Sheet & Fleet Flexibility

Leverage ratio reported at 2.2x (gross debt-to-EBITDA basis); completed a $500 million secured term loan to refinance higher-cost obligations; fleet plan intact with large deliveries ahead (management cited aircraft deliveries in the '60s' for the year) and flexibility from a largely owned/unencumbered fleet.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) Earnings, Revenues Date & History

The upcoming earnings date is based on a company’s previous reporting, and may be updated when the actual date is announced

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LUV Earnings History

Report Date	Fiscal Quarter	Forecast / EPS	Last Year's EPS	EPS YoY Change	Slides	Play Transcript
Jul 23, 2026	2026 (Q2)	0.47 / -	0.43	―	―	―
Apr 22, 2026	2026 (Q1)	0.47 / 0.45	-0.13	446.15% (+0.58)	―
Jan 28, 2026	2025 (Q4)	0.57 / 0.58	0.56	3.57% (+0.02)	―
Oct 22, 2025	2025 (Q3)	-0.04 / 0.11	0.15	-26.67% (-0.04)	―
Jul 23, 2025	2025 (Q2)	0.51 / 0.43	0.58	-25.86% (-0.15)	―
Apr 23, 2025	2025 (Q1)	-0.18 / -0.13	-0.36	63.89% (+0.23)	―
Jan 30, 2025	2024 (Q4)	0.46 / 0.56	0.37	51.35% (+0.19)	―
Oct 24, 2024	2024 (Q3)	0.05 / 0.15	0.38	-60.53% (-0.23)	―
Jul 25, 2024	2024 (Q2)	0.52 / 0.58	1.09	-46.79% (-0.51)	―
Apr 25, 2024	2024 (Q1)	-0.34 / -0.36	-0.27	-33.33% (-0.09)	―

The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.

Beat

Missed

LUV Earnings-Related Price Changes

Report Date	Price 1 Day Before	Price 1 Day After	Percentage Change
Apr 22, 2026	$39.35	$37.75	-4.07%
Jan 28, 2026	$40.68	$48.29	+18.70%
Oct 22, 2025	$33.47	$31.38	-6.25%
Jul 23, 2025	$36.91	$32.79	-11.16%

Earnings announcements can affect a stock’s price. This table shows the stock's price the day before and the day after recent earnings reports, including the percentage change.