Cigna Corp vs Southwest Airlines Co — how do they compare? Cigna Corp trades at $272.72 (market cap $73.56B), while Southwest Airlines Co trades at $45.6 (market cap $21.97B). The key difference: Cigna Corp is far larger — about 3.3× Southwest Airlines Co's market cap, and Cigna Corp pays the higher dividend (2.24%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CI | LUV | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $73.56B | $21.97B |
Sector | Health | Industrials |
52-Week High | $311.00 | $54.80 |
52-Week Low | $244.41 | $29.06 |
Enterprise Value | $98.27B | $25.06B |
Dividend Yield | 2.24% | 1.6% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Cigna (CI) trades at $282.49, up 2.63% with strong earnings beats in recent quarters. The stock shows bearish technical signals but benefits from low valuation ratios like a P/E of 11.68 and P/S of 0.27. Recent Q2 2026 results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $7.78 beating estimates, and the company raised its full-year guidance to at least $30.45 adjusted EPS, reflecting robust growth in health services and insurance segments.
The outlook is positive due to consistent earnings outperformance and raised guidance, though technical weakness and competitive pressures pose risks. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with a $338.90 price target, indicating ~20% upside potential from current levels, supported by dividend payments and institutional accumulation.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades at $47.05, up 0.23% today, with a bullish technical signal and consensus price target of $53.86. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations with EPS of $0.94 versus $0.51 expected, driven by record revenue. The company maintains a solid liquidity position of $8.73B cash and has declared quarterly dividends of $0.18 per share, with new board appointments signaling strategic focus.
Outlook is positive with projected 2026 net income margin of 2.78% and revenue growth to $30.1B, but risks include fuel cost volatility and competitive pressures. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 42% buy ratings, offering potential upside of 14.5% to the consensus target, though institutional selling by firms like Elliott Management warrants monitoring.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Cigna primarily provides pharmacy benefit management and health insurance services. Its PBM services were greatly expanded by its 2018 merger with Express Scripts and are mostly sold to health insurance plans and employers. Its largest PBM contract is the Department of Defense. In health insurance and other benefits, Cigna mostly serves employers through self-funding arrangements, but it also operates in government programs, such as Medicare Advantage. The company operates mostly in the U.S. with 15 million medical members covered as of the end of 2020, but its services extend internationally, covering another 2 million people.
Read more on CI →Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic carrier in the United States, as measured by the number of originating passengers boarded. Southwest operates over 700 aircraft in an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Despite expanding into longer routes and business travel, the airline still specializes in short-haul leisure flights, using a point-to-point network. Southwest operates a low-cost carrier business model.
Read more on LUV →