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FDXF vs. LUV: FedEx Freight vs. Southwest Airlines Stock Comparison

How do FedEx Freight (FDXF) 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

FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) both fall under the Transportation industry group, but FDXF is classified in Ground Transportation while LUV is classified in Passenger Airlines.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been public since January 2, 1980, giving it decades of market history across multiple cycles, while FedEx Freight (FDXF) listed only on May 27, 2026 and lacks comparable through-cycle data.

Company profile comparison for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Profile ItemFDXFLUV
NameFedEx Freight Holding Company, Inc.Southwest Airlines Co.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorIndustrialsIndustrials
GICS Industry GroupTransportationTransportation
GICS IndustryGround TransportationPassenger Airlines
GICS Sub-IndustryCargo Ground TransportationPassenger Airlines
Market Capitalization18.47 billion USD21.76 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateMay 27, 2026January 2, 1980
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FDXF
LUV
GSPC
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) 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 FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Total Return (1Y)--44.35%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)--28.08%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)---0.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FDXF
LUV
GSPC
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) 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 FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

FedEx Freight (FDXF) reports a negative beta of -1.72, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Southwest Airlines (LUV) has a non-negative beta of 1.19.

Risk profile metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)64.08%44.46%
Beta (5Y)-1.721.19
Max Drawdown (5Y)-42.72%-55.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)1.53M5.76M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Both FDXF and LUV need 1-year volatility and 1-year return to plot risk-return positioning.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)--0.90
Sortino Ratio (1Y)--1.51

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 69.09% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 13.94%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

69.09%

FDXF
69.09%
Max
45.08%
Q3
22.02%
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%
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their ROE against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 7.45% 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.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

7.45%

Max
50.36%
Q3
21.18%
FDXF
7.45%
Median
5.58%
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%
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their net margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 14.66% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 4.49% operates in the bottom quartile.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

14.66%

Max
59.18%
Q3
29.30%
FDXF
14.66%
Median
11.50%
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%
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their operating margin against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
ROE (TTM)69.09%13.94%
ROA (TTM)5.67%3.05%
Net Margin (TTM)7.45%3.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)14.66%4.49%
Gross Margin (TTM)29.28%22.14%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both FedEx Freight (FDXF) at -1.09% 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.

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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both FedEx Freight (FDXF) at -51.34% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 3.95% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Revenue Growth (YoY)-1.09%2.11%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)-4.46%5.63%
EPS Growth (YoY)-51.34%3.95%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)-25.45%-3.16%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 1.52 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 0.47 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for LUV.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

1.52

Max
2.58
Q3
1.62
FDXF
1.52
Median
1.16
Q1
0.78
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
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their current ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Southwest Airlines (LUV) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94 against its industry range, while FedEx Freight (FDXF) reports no figure this period.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

--

Max
2.75
Q3
1.37
Median
0.78
Q1
0.35
Min
0.00
FDXF
--

LUV

Transportation industry group

0.94

Max
2.75
Q3
1.37
LUV
0.94
Median
0.78
Q1
0.35
Min
0.00
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): FDXF does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; LUV is benchmarked against the Transportation industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Current Ratio (MRQ)1.520.47
Debt / Equity (MRQ)--0.94
Net Debt / EBITDA5.941.21

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Southwest Airlines (LUV) reports a yield of 1.62%, ranking against industry peers normally.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

0.00%

Max
4.68%
Q3
1.99%
Median
0.74%
FDXF
0.00%
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%
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Southwest Airlines (LUV) reports a payout of 35.12%, ranking against industry peers normally.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

0.00%

Max
100.89%
Q3
41.68%
Median
20.43%
FDXF
0.00%
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%
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.62%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%35.12%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 21.68 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 36.23 sits in the richer quartile — FDXF needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

36.23

Max
46.76
FDXF
36.23
Q3
30.87
Median
20.58
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
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Southwest Airlines (LUV) at 0.69 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while FedEx Freight (FDXF) at 2.10 sits in the pricier quartile — FDXF costs more per dollar of sales.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

2.10

Max
4.35
FDXF
2.10
Q3
2.07
Median
0.93
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
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

FedEx Freight (FDXF) reports a negative P/B ratio of -73.55, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Southwest Airlines (LUV) reports 2.97, ranking against industry peers normally.

FDXF

Transportation industry group

-73.55

Max
6.29
Q3
3.39
Median
1.90
Q1
1.03
Min
-2.07
FDXF
-73.55

LUV

Transportation industry group

2.97

Max
6.29
Q3
3.39
LUV
2.97
Median
1.90
Q1
1.03
Min
-2.07
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FedEx Freight (FDXF) vs. Southwest Airlines (LUV): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Transportation industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for FedEx Freight (FDXF) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
MetricFDXFLUV
P/E Ratio (TTM)36.2321.68
P/S Ratio (TTM)2.100.69
P/B Ratio (MRQ)-73.552.97
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)-2.77%-2.82%