LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
LUV has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
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.
RKLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
RKLB's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
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.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect RKLB's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 RKLB on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
RKLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.36 | +$0.03 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.27 | +$0.19 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.32 | +$0.09 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.37 | +$0.01 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.39 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.46 | -$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.41 | -$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.38 | $0.00 |
RKLB is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $0.36 per share over the past year, against $0.46 at its worst in mid-2025.
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 RKLB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
RKLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $267.8M | +73% |
| Q2 2026 | $234.1M | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $200.3M | +63% |
| Q4 2025 | $179.7M | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $155.1M | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $144.5M | +36% |
| Q1 2025 | $122.6M | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $132.4M | +121% |
RKLB has the edge over LUV on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -30% | +8.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | -25% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | -28% | +20 points |
| Q4 2025 | -28% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | -38% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -41% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -39% | +41 points |
RKLB's operating margin was −30% last quarter, up 8.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 the edge over RKLB on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
RKLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$23.9M | +$45.5M |
| Q2 2026 | -$110.1M | -$54.8M |
| Q1 2026 | -$77.4M | +$5.5M |
| Q4 2025 | -$114.2M | -$90.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$69.4M | -$27.5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$55.3M | -$26.9M |
| Q1 2025 | -$82.9M | -$61.1M |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.9M | +$28.7M |
RKLB has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$326M over the past year, against −$232M the year before.
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 RKLB 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.
RKLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.6% | +22.6M shares |
| 1 year | +23% | +124M shares |
| 3 years | +35% | +168M shares |
| 5 years | +46% | +204M shares |
RKLB has 652M diluted shares, up 23% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
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).
RKLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.6 | Neutral |
RKLB's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (neutral).
LUV PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LUV | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 7.4% below |
| PE % | 15 | 58 | 43 pts below |
LUV is trading at 22x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
RKLB PE vs Industrials Sector
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 RKLB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
RKLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $61.4 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.1 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $77.6 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.5 | 13% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.4 | 104% above |
RKLB's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 104% above its 200-week average.
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 RKLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RKLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.82 | $10.3 | +4.9% |
| 2021 | $10.3 | $12.0 | +17% |
| 2022 | $12.0 | $3.77 | -69% |
| 2023 | $3.77 | $5.53 | +47% |
| 2024 | $5.53 | $27.2 | +392% |
| 2025 | $27.2 | $70.7 | +160% |
| 2026 YTD | $70.7 | $64.1 | -9.3% |
RKLB's yearly returns have swung widely, from +392% in 2024 to −69% in 2022. It's down 9.3% so far in 2026.