Southwest Airlines Co vs United Airlines Holdings Inc — how do they compare? Southwest Airlines Co trades at $45.71 (market cap $21.97B), while United Airlines Holdings Inc trades at $126.9 (market cap $40.17B). The key difference: United Airlines Holdings Inc is the larger of the two by market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays a 1.6% dividend while United Airlines Holdings Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUV | UAL | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $21.97B | $40.17B |
Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
52-Week High | $54.80 | $136.11 |
52-Week Low | $29.67 | $85.21 |
Enterprise Value | $25.06B | $57.20B |
Dividend Yield | 1.6% | — |
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.
United Airlines (UAL) trades at $129.56, up 0.34% today, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and strong earnings beats in recent quarters. The stock shows robust fundamentals with revenue growth to $59.07B in 2025 and a net income margin of 5.56%, while valuation metrics like a P/E of 12.13 suggest potential undervaluation. Recent news highlights fleet innovation focus after merger attempts failed, with analyst consensus strongly bullish.
The outlook for UAL is positive, driven by sustained travel demand and cost management, but risks include fuel price volatility and competitive pressures. With 66% of analysts rating it Buy and a consensus price target of $167.73, the stock offers upside, though investors must monitor execution on fuel cost recapture and economic sensitivity.
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 →United Airlines is a major U.S. network carrier. United's hubs include San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, and Washington, D.C. United operates a hub-and-spoke system that is more focused on international travel than legacy peers.
Read more on UAL →