Southwest Airlines Co vs Nasdaq Inc — how do they compare? Southwest Airlines Co trades at $48.79 (market cap $23.63B), while Nasdaq Inc trades at $90.79 (market cap $51.96B). The key difference: Nasdaq Inc is far larger — about 2.2× Southwest Airlines Co's market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays the higher dividend (1.49%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUV | NDAQ | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $23.63B | $51.96B |
Sector | Industrials | Financials |
52-Week High | $54.80 | $100.98 |
52-Week Low | $29.06 | $76.85 |
Enterprise Value | $26.70B | $59.02B |
Dividend Yield | 1.49% | 1.22% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades at $48.28, up 0.42% today, with a neutral technical signal and mixed earnings history. Recent Q1 2026 EPS missed expectations, but Q4 2025 and Q3 2025 beat. Financials show modest revenue growth to $28.06B in 2025, but net income margin is thin at 2.83%. Analyst consensus is mixed with 42% buy, 47% hold, and 11% sell ratings, and a $52.47 price target implies potential upside. Key news highlights Q2 2026 earnings due July 23, 2026, amid fuel cost volatility and travel demand resilience.
LUV presents a cautious opportunity with upside to the consensus target, supported by operational improvements and sector tailwinds, but risks from fuel price swings, execution challenges, and thin margins warrant careful monitoring. The stock's valuation at a P/E of 32.05 appears elevated relative to earnings growth, requiring strong future performance to justify current levels.
Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades at $92.00, up 0.39% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and a consensus analyst price target of $105.60. Recent earnings beats and strong profitability margins, including a net income margin of 23.03%, highlight fundamental strength. The company continues to expand its non-trading businesses and execute strategic initiatives, as noted in recent financial media coverage.
The outlook for NDAQ is positive, driven by consistent earnings performance and strategic growth in market infrastructure. Key risks include market volatility sensitivity and high valuation multiples. Investors should weigh the robust analyst support against potential macroeconomic headwinds affecting exchange volumes.
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 →Founded in 1971, Nasdaq is primarily known for its equity exchange, but in addition to its market-services business (about 35% of sales), the company sells and distributes market data as well as offers Nasdaq-branded indexes to asset managers and investors through its information-services segment (30%). Nasdaq's corporate-services business (20%) offers listing services and related investor relations products to publicly traded companies and through the company's market technology group (15%), Nasdaq facilitates the exchange operations of other exchanges throughout the world and provides financial compliance services.
Read more on NDAQ →