Southwest Airlines (LUV) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $8.4 billion, up 21.2% on the year
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) announced its results for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, on 21 October 2026. Revenue was $8.4 billion, up 21.2% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $270 million, up 400.0% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $0.55. The figures are from the company's earnings press release; the 10-Q with the full statements is not filed yet, and this page fills in when it is.
Revenue$8.4 billionup 21.2%
Net income$270 millionup 400.0%
Diluted EPS$0.55$0.10 a year earlier
QuarterQ3 FY2026ended 30 September 2026
The quarter, against the one before and a year earlier
| Line | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 8,422 | 8,432 | 6,949 | +21.2% |
| Net income | 270 | 233 | 54.0 | +400.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.55 | $0.47 | $0.10 | +450.0% |
$ million except per share.
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Q3 FY2026 is from the company's press release of 21 October 2026; the other columns are from its 10-Q and 10-K filings. A release figure is shown when the release's own figure for an earlier quarter matches the filed one, so the line and its units are read right.Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters filed
| Q3 FY2021 | Q4 FY2021 * | Q1 FY2022 | Q2 FY2022 | Q3 FY2022 | Q4 FY2022 * | Q1 FY2023 | Q2 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | Q4 FY2023 * | Q1 FY2024 | Q2 FY2024 | Q3 FY2024 | Q4 FY2024 * | Q1 FY2025 † | Q2 FY2025 † | Q3 FY2025 | Q4 FY2025 * | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 4,679 | 5,051 | 4,694 | 6,728 | 6,220 | 6,172 | 5,706 | 7,037 | 6,525 | 6,823 | 6,329 | 7,354 | 6,870 | 6,930 | 6,428 | 7,244 | 6,949 | 7,442 | 7,249 | 8,432 |
| Operating income | 733 | 195 | -151 | 1,158 | 395 | -385 | -284 | 795 | 117 | -404 | -393 | 398 | 38.0 | 278 | -223 | 225 | 35.0 | 391 | 330 | 285 |
| Operating margin | 16% | 4% | -3% | 17% | 6% | -6% | -5% | 11% | 2% | -6% | -6% | 5% | 1% | 4% | -3% | 3% | 1% | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Interest expense | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 65.0 | 63.0 | n/a | 65.0 | 63.0 | 63.0 | 58.0 | 46.0 | 39.0 | 35.0 | 47.0 | 54.0 | 64.0 |
| Pre-tax income | 600 | 77.0 | -376 | 1,036 | 353 | -285 | -205 | 886 | 237 | -285 | -298 | 478 | 89.0 | 329 | -192 | 280 | 68.0 | 407 | 285 | 306 |
| Tax rate | 26% | 13% | n/a | 27% | 22% | n/a | n/a | 23% | 19% | n/a | n/a | 23% | 25% | 20% | n/a | 24% | 21% | 21% | 20% | 24% |
| Net income | 446 | 67.0 | -278 | 760 | 277 | -220 | -159 | 683 | 193 | -252 | -231 | 367 | 67.0 | 262 | -149 | 213 | 54.0 | 323 | 227 | 233 |
| Net margin | 10% | 1% | -6% | 11% | 4% | -4% | -3% | 10% | 3% | -4% | -4% | 5% | 1% | 4% | -2% | 3% | 1% | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.73 | $0.12 | -$0.47 | $1.20 | $0.44 | -$0.37 | -$0.27 | $1.08 | $0.31 | -$0.37 | -$0.39 | $0.58 | $0.11 | $0.42 | -$0.26 | $0.39 | $0.10 | $0.61 | $0.45 | $0.47 |
| Operating cash flow | -575 | 247 | 1,071 | 1,906 | 234 | 579 | 706 | 1,416 | 616 | 426 | -104 | -23.0 | 113 | 476 | 860 | 401 | 287 | 294 | 1,418 | 530 |
| Capital expenditure | 135 | 180 | 510 | 987 | 1,072 | 1,355 | 1,046 | 925 | 842 | 707 | 583 | 494 | 517 | 460 | 527 | 660 | 678 | 859 | 630 | 818 |
| Free cash flow | -710 | 67.0 | 561 | 919 | -838 | -776 | -340 | 491 | -226 | -281 | -687 | -517 | -404 | 16.0 | 333 | -259 | -391 | -565 | 788 | -288 |
| Buybacks | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 250 | 750 | 1,500 | 250 | 50.0 | 1,250 | 0.0 |
| Dividends paid | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 214 | 0.0 | 214 | 0.0 | 215 | 0.0 | 216 | -1.0 | 107 | 103 | 189 | 0.0 | 93.0 | 88.0 |
| Shares outstanding | 592m | 592m | 593m | 593m | 594m | 594m | 595m | 596m | 596m | 597m | 598m | 599m | 600m | 593m | 570m | 525m | 517m | 491m | 489m | 489m |
| Filing | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q |
Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.
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* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. A quarter marked † is shown as the company last restated it in a later filing, so it compares with the quarters around it on one basis; rest on a figure for the one first filed. EPS is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.Earnings press release for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, filed with the SEC on 21 October 2026 with a Form 8-K: the release.