Southwest (LUV) Q3 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates

Southwest Airlines reported Q3 2026 revenue of $8.42 billion, up 21.2% year-over-year, beating Wall Street's $8.27 billion estimate by 1.89%. EPS came in at $0.66 versus consensus of $0.61, representing an 8.2% surprise. However, the load factor of 79.8% missed analyst estimates of 82.3%, and fuel costs per gallon were higher than expected at $3.92 versus $3.52 estimated. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) rating and has declined 5.8% over the past month.