Southwest Airlines Co vs Zscaler Inc — how do they compare? Southwest Airlines Co trades at $44.95 (market cap $22.27B), while Zscaler Inc trades at $176.34 (market cap $28.87B). The key difference: Zscaler Inc is the larger of the two by market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays a 1.58% dividend while Zscaler Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUV | ZS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $22.27B | $28.87B |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $54.80 | $336.27 |
52-Week Low | $29.67 | $118.05 |
Enterprise Value | $25.37B | $27.20B |
Dividend Yield | 1.58% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades at $44.9, down 4.57% on the day, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed quarterly earnings, beating in Q2 2026 but missing in Q1 2026, while revenue growth is projected to rise to $30.1B in 2026. Recent news highlights board appointments and initiatives to attract business travelers, amid a volatile fuel cost environment.
LUV presents a cautious opportunity with a consensus price target of $53.86 implying upside, supported by improving cash flow and dividend payments. Risks include fuel price volatility, execution on new business offerings, and competitive pressures, requiring careful monitoring of earnings consistency and cost management.
Zscaler (ZS) trades at $176.68, up 4.74% with strong technical momentum and bullish analyst sentiment. The stock shows consistent revenue growth from $1.1B in 2022 to $2.67B in 2025, though profitability remains negative with a -2.44% net margin. Recent earnings beats and leadership in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for security platforms support positive momentum, while elevated valuation ratios (P/S 8.94, EV/EBITDA 188.83) reflect growth expectations.
Outlook remains cautiously optimistic with 79% analyst buy ratings and $191.81 consensus target, but risks include persistent unprofitability, high spending, and competitive pressures. The upcoming Q2 2026 earnings report on September 3 will be critical for validating growth trajectory amid concerns about execution and valuation sustainability.
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 →Zscaler is a security-as-a-service firm that offers its customers cloud-delivered solutions for protecting user devices and data. The firm leverages its position in 150 colocation data centers to deliver traditionally appliance-based security functionality, such as firewalls and sandboxes, as a completely cloud-native platform. The firm focuses on large enterprise customers and offers two primary product suites: Zscaler Internet Access, which securely connects users to externally managed application and websites (such as Salesforce and Google), and Zscaler Private Access, which securely connects users to internally managed applications. Both product suites encompass a broad gamut of capabilities situated across the traditional security stack.
Read more on ZS →