DAL vs. LUV: Delta Air Lines vs. Southwest Airlines Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) are both classified in the Passenger Airlines sub-industry within the broader Passenger Airlines industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Profile Item	DAL	LUV
Name	Delta Air Lines, Inc.	Southwest Airlines Co.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Transportation	Transportation
GICS Industry	Passenger Airlines	Passenger Airlines
GICS Sub-Industry	Passenger Airlines	Passenger Airlines
Market Capitalization	57.37 billion USD	21.76 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 3, 2007	January 2, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

DAL

LUV

GSPC

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Total Return (1Y)	56.32%	44.35%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	41.15%	28.08%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	16.27%	-0.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

DAL

LUV

GSPC

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	39.27%	44.46%
Beta (5Y)	1.37	1.19
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-47.92%	-55.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	6.42M	5.76M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

DAL and LUV are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	0.90
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.19	1.51

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 15.91% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 13.94% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

DAL

Transportation industry group

15.91%

Max: 45.08%
Q3: 22.02%
DAL: 15.91%
Median: 13.94%
Q1: 2.89%
Min: -10.45%

LUV

Transportation industry group

13.94%

Max: 45.08%
Q3: 22.02%
LUV: 13.94%
Median: 13.94%
Q1: 2.89%
Min: -10.45%

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their ROE against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 4.58% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 3.34% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

DAL

Transportation industry group

4.58%

Max: 50.36%
Q3: 21.18%
Median: 5.58%
DAL: 4.58%
Q1: 1.55%
Min: -11.37%

LUV

Transportation industry group

3.34%

Max: 50.36%
Q3: 21.18%
Median: 5.58%
LUV: 3.34%
Q1: 1.55%
Min: -11.37%

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their net margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 7.22% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 4.49% operates in the bottom quartile.

DAL

Transportation industry group

7.22%

Max: 59.18%
Q3: 29.30%
Median: 11.50%
DAL: 7.22%
Q1: 4.62%
Min: -8.91%

LUV

Transportation industry group

4.49%

Max: 59.18%
Q3: 29.30%
Median: 11.50%
Q1: 4.62%
LUV: 4.49%
Min: -8.91%

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their operating margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
ROE (TTM)	15.91%	13.94%
ROA (TTM)	3.95%	3.05%
Net Margin (TTM)	4.58%	3.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	7.22%	4.49%
Gross Margin (TTM)	17.90%	22.14%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 2.79% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 2.11% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 43.71% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 3.95% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for DAL.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.79%	2.11%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.80%	5.63%
EPS Growth (YoY)	43.71%	3.95%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	54.92%	-3.16%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.40 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 0.47 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

DAL

Transportation industry group

0.40

Max: 2.58
Q3: 1.62
Median: 1.16
Q1: 0.78
DAL: 0.40
Min: 0.22

LUV

Transportation industry group

0.47

Max: 2.58
Q3: 1.62
Median: 1.16
Q1: 0.78
LUV: 0.47
Min: 0.22

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their current ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.89 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 0.94 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

DAL

Transportation industry group

0.89

Max: 2.75
Q3: 1.37
DAL: 0.89
Median: 0.78
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

LUV

Transportation industry group

0.94

Max: 2.75
Q3: 1.37
LUV: 0.94
Median: 0.78
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.40	0.47
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.89	0.94
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.15	1.21

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.94% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 1.62% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

DAL

Transportation industry group

0.94%

Max: 4.68%
Q3: 1.99%
DAL: 0.94%
Median: 0.74%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LUV

Transportation industry group

1.62%

Max: 4.68%
Q3: 1.99%
LUV: 1.62%
Median: 0.74%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 15.52% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 35.12% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

DAL

Transportation industry group

15.52%

Max: 100.89%
Q3: 41.68%
Median: 20.43%
DAL: 15.52%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LUV

Transportation industry group

35.12%

Max: 100.89%
Q3: 41.68%
LUV: 35.12%
Median: 20.43%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.94%	1.62%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	15.52%	35.12%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 17.41 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 21.68 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

DAL

Transportation industry group

17.41

Max: 46.76
Q3: 30.87
Median: 20.58
DAL: 17.41
Q1: 10.44
Min: 0.00

LUV

Transportation industry group

21.68

Max: 46.76
Q3: 30.87
LUV: 21.68
Median: 20.58
Q1: 10.44
Min: 0.00

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 0.80 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 0.69 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

DAL

Transportation industry group

0.80

Max: 4.35
Q3: 2.07
Median: 0.93
DAL: 0.80
Q1: 0.53
Min: 0.04

LUV

Transportation industry group

0.69

Max: 4.35
Q3: 2.07
Median: 0.93
LUV: 0.69
Q1: 0.53
Min: 0.04

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Delta Air Lines (DAL) at 2.53 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 2.97 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

DAL

Transportation industry group

2.53

Max: 6.29
Q3: 3.39
DAL: 2.53
Median: 1.90
Q1: 1.03
Min: -2.07

LUV

Transportation industry group

2.97

Max: 6.29
Q3: 3.39
LUV: 2.97
Median: 1.90
Q1: 1.03
Min: -2.07

Delta Air Lines (DAL) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Metric	DAL	LUV
P/E Ratio (TTM)	17.41	21.68
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.80	0.69
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.53	2.97
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.34%	-2.82%