Southwest Airlines Co vs MGM Resorts International — how do they compare? Southwest Airlines Co trades at $48.24 (market cap $23.63B), while MGM Resorts International trades at $46.57 (market cap $11.86B). The key difference: Southwest Airlines Co is the larger of the two by market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays the higher dividend (1.49%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUV | MGM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $23.63B | $11.86B |
Sector | Industrials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $54.80 | $50.69 |
52-Week Low | $29.06 | $30.72 |
Enterprise Value | $26.70B | $40.90B |
Dividend Yield | 1.49% | 0.03% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades at $48.69, up 1.27% today, with a neutral technical signal. The stock shows mixed earnings results, beating estimates in Q3 and Q4 2025 but missing in Q1 2026, with Q2 2026 results pending. Revenue grew to $28.06B in 2025, though net income margin declined to 1.57%. Analyst consensus is a Buy with a $52.47 price target, indicating potential upside. Recent news highlights Q2 earnings anticipation and sector-wide factors like fuel costs and travel demand.
The outlook for LUV is cautiously optimistic, driven by resilient travel demand and cost management efforts. Key opportunities include earnings growth potential and favorable analyst targets. Risks involve fuel price volatility, competitive pressures, and execution challenges. Investors should weigh strong institutional interest against macroeconomic headwinds affecting the airline industry.
MGM trades at $45.67, down 1.0% today, with a neutral technical stance and mixed earnings history. The company reported $17.54B revenue in 2025 but net income fell to $206M, with profit margins narrowing. Recent news highlights acquisition interest from Barry Diller at $48.30 per share, creating investor uncertainty. Cash flow trends show improving operational strength, though net cash flow remains negative.
Outlook is balanced: potential upside exists from the acquisition offer and steady revenue, but risks include declining profitability and high debt. Analysts are split evenly between Buy and Hold, with a $48.93 consensus target suggesting modest upside. Investors should weigh takeover prospects against fundamental pressures.
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 →MGM Resorts is the largest resort operator on the Las Vegas Strip with 35,000 guest rooms and suites, representing about one fourth of all units in the market. The company's Vegas properties include MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Cosmopolitan, Luxor, New York-New York, and CityCenter. The Strip contributed approximately 49% of total EBITDAR in the prepandemic year of 2019. MGM also owns U.S. regional assets, which represented 29% of 2019 EBITDAR. we estimate MGM's U.S. sports and iGaming operations are currently a mid-single-digit percentage of its total revenue. The company also operates the 56%-owned MGM Macau casinos with a new property that opened on the Cotai Strip in early 2018. Further, we estimate MGM will open a resort in Japan in 2027.
Read more on MGM →