BA
The Boeing Company
BA offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
LUV has the edge over BA overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
BA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure |
BA's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
LUV Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
LUV's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
BA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 18x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 51x | $496 | +189% |
| Fair | 82x | $790 | +360% |
| Expensive | 91x | $876 | +411% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BA has the edge over LUV in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LUV PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $45.23 | — |
| Current | 22x | $45.23 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $48.84 | +8% |
| Fair | 35x | $70.93 | +57% |
| Expensive | 48x | $97.15 | +115% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LUV's PE is in its cheap range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
BA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect BA to return to profit, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
LUV Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LUV, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
BA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.66 | +$23.38 |
| Q2 2026 | $2.78 | +$19.33 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.53 | +$20.49 |
| Q4 2025 | $2.48 | +$20.84 |
| Q3 2025 | -$13.72 | -$0.83 |
| Q2 2025 | -$16.55 | -$10.93 |
| Q1 2025 | -$17.96 | -$14.42 |
| Q4 2024 | -$18.36 | -$14.69 |
BA has returned to profit: it earned $9.66 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
LUV Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.27 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.03 | +194% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.58 | +126% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.50 | +69% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.79 | +3.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.69 | +$0.75 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.70 | +400% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.89 | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.76 | 0% |
LUV has the edge over BA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24.2B | +3.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $24.6B | +8% |
| Q1 2026 | $22.2B | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.9B | +57% |
| Q3 2025 | $23.3B | +30% |
| Q2 2025 | $22.7B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.5B | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.2B | -31% |
BA has the edge over LUV on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.5% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 37% | +61 points |
| Q3 2025 | -21% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8% | +5.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +2.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -25% | -26 points |
BA's operating margin was 1.5% last quarter, up 22 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LUV Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.4B | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.2B | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B | +7.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.9B | +1.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.2B | -1.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.4B | +1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.9B | +1.6% |
LUV's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $8.4B last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.5% | +4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.5% | +8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.3% | +1.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.1% | -2.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | -3.5% | +2.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4% | +9.9 points |
LUV has the edge over BA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $464M | +95% |
| Q2 2026 | $631M | +$831M |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.5B | +$836M |
| Q4 2025 | $375M | +$4.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $238M | +$2.2B |
| Q2 2025 | -$200M | +$4.1B |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.3B | +$1.6B |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.1B | -239% |
BA has the edge over LUV on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
LUV Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$493M | -$102M |
| Q2 2026 | -$288M | -$54M |
| Q1 2026 | $788M | +119% |
| Q4 2025 | -$564M | -3625% |
| Q3 2025 | -$391M | +$13M |
| Q2 2025 | -$234M | +$283M |
| Q1 2025 | $359M | +$1B |
| Q4 2024 | $16M | +$299M |
LUV has burned cash in most quarters: −$557M over the past year, against −$250M the year before.
BA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +2.1M shares |
| 1 year | +4.3% | +32.8M shares |
| 3 years | +31% | +186M shares |
| 5 years | +35% | +204M shares |
| Available history | +40% | +227M shares |
BA has 793M diluted shares, up 4.3% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
LUV Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | -6.1% | -32M shares |
| 3 years | -23% | -146M shares |
| 5 years | -19% | -113M shares |
| Available history | -8.3% | -45M shares |
LUV has the edge over BA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B |
| Q4 2025 | $50M |
| Q3 2025 | $250M |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $750M |
| Q4 2024 | $250M |
LUV spent $1.3B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 53% from the year before.
BA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 5.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 6.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 6.9x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 361.8x | High |
| Q1 2024 | 36.1x | High |
| Q4 2023 | 36.4x | High |
| Q3 2023 | 96.1x | High |
BA's net debt is about 3.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
LUV Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
LUV has the edge over BA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 31.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.6 | Oversold |
BA's weekly RSI is 31 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (oversold).
LUV Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 55.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 59.2 | Neutral |
LUV's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 59 (neutral).
BA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | BA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 24x | 26% below |
| PE % | 0 | 58 | 58 pts below |
BA has the edge over LUV on valuation relative to its sector.
LUV PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LUV | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 7.3% below |
| PE % | 15 | 58 | 43 pts below |
LUV is trading at 22x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
BA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $184.6 | 7.1% below |
| 20 week MA | $203.8 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $215.5 | 20% below |
| 100 week MA | $205.9 | 17% below |
| 200 week MA | $200.6 | 14% below |
BA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 14% below its 200-week average.
LUV Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $42.5 | 6.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.4 | 4.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $43.2 | 4.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $37.5 | 21% above |
| 200 week MA | $33.8 | 34% above |
LUV has the edge over BA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $330.1 | $217.2 | -34% |
| 2021 | $217.2 | $204.2 | -6% |
| 2022 | $204.2 | $189.1 | -7.4% |
| 2023 | $189.1 | $260.7 | +38% |
| 2024 | $260.7 | $180.7 | -31% |
| 2025 | $180.7 | $216.4 | +20% |
| 2026 YTD | $216.4 | $171.6 | -21% |
BA has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's down 21% so far in 2026.
LUV Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $54.3 | $46.3 | -15% |
| 2021 | $46.3 | $41.9 | -9.5% |
| 2022 | $41.9 | $36.1 | -14% |
| 2023 | $36.1 | $28.9 | -20% |
| 2024 | $28.9 | $34.0 | +18% |
| 2025 | $34.0 | $41.3 | +21% |
| 2026 YTD | $41.3 | $45.2 | +9.6% |
LUV has the edge over BA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.