LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
LUV has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over LUV overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
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.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over LUV in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for VRT, with profitability improving.
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's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.03 over the past year, against $4.28 in late 2019.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over LUV on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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's operating margin was 4.5% last quarter, up 4 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over LUV on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over LUV on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over LUV on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
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 VRT 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.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
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).
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over LUV on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
LUV PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LUV | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 7.4% below |
| PE % | 15 | 58 | 43 pts below |
LUV has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
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 VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% 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 finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 9.6% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over LUV on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.