Southwest Airlines Co vs McKesson Corporation — how do they compare? Southwest Airlines Co trades at $45.71 (market cap $21.97B), while McKesson Corporation trades at $899.06 (market cap $102.58B). The key difference: McKesson Corporation is far larger — about 4.7× Southwest Airlines Co's market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays the higher dividend (1.6%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUV | MCK | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $21.97B | $102.58B |
Sector | Industrials | Health |
52-Week High | $54.80 | $995.69 |
52-Week Low | $29.67 | $659.01 |
Enterprise Value | $25.06B | $109.12B |
Dividend Yield | 1.6% | 0.43% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
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.
McKesson (MCK) trades at $869.58, down 0.14% on the day, with a bullish technical signal supported by moving averages. The stock shows strong fundamentals with revenue growth to $359.05B in 2025 and consistent earnings beats, including Q2 2026 EPS of $9.93 versus $9.56 expected. Valuation metrics like P/E of 23.33 and P/S of 0.26 indicate reasonable pricing relative to peers. Recent news highlights Q1 2027 results exceeding expectations and raised full-year guidance, driven by specialty drug and oncology growth.
Outlook remains positive with 80% analyst buy ratings and a $1,000 consensus price target, suggesting 15% upside. Risks include thin net margins of 1.12% and high liabilities at $76.83B, which could pressure equity during economic downturns. Investors should focus on execution of raised guidance and margin improvements from cost efficiencies.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
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 →McKesson is a leading wholesaler of branded, generic, and specialty pharmaceutical products to pharmacies (retail chains, independent, and mail order), hospitals networks, and healthcare providers. Along with AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, the three account for well over 90% of the U.S. pharmaceutical wholesale industry. McKesson is currently divesting from its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution in Europe and Canada in order to redeploy capital to strategic growth areas in the U.S. (oncology network and ecosystem, and biopharma services). Additionally, the company supplies medical-surgical products and equipment to healthcare facilities and provides a variety of technology solutions for pharmacies.
Read more on MCK →