Southwest 10-Q: Q3 Net Income $270M, Fuel Up 62%, $14.5B Aircraft Commitments
LUV sits 43% above its 52-week low of $29.26 on elevated volume (2.2× avg).
Summary
Southwest's Q3 10-Q details $270 million of net income on $8.4 billion of revenue, with fuel expense up 61.7% to $2.15 billion and $14.5 billion of aircraft capital commitments through 2031.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · LUV
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Q3 Net Income $270M on Record Revenue
Third-quarter net income was $270 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, on total operating revenues of $8,422 million; nine-month net income was $730 million ($1.47 diluted).
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Fuel Expense Up 61.7% to $2.15B
Aircraft fuel and related taxes rose $821 million year-over-year to $2,152 million as fuel cost per gallon climbed to $3.92 from $2.40, with no hedging in place after the 2025 program termination.
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Liquidity and Debt Position
Cash was $3,624 million at September 30, 2026, alongside a new undrawn $2.0 billion revolver signed August 10, 2026 and a $1.5 billion term loan outstanding; nine-month operating cash flow was $2,460 million against $2,454 million of capital expenditures.
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$14.5B Aircraft Capital Commitments
Firm Boeing orders carry $14.5 billion of payments through 2031, including $3.5 billion in the remainder of 2026; Supplemental Agreement No. 26 converted 43 -7 orders to -8s and shifted 11 -8s to -7s.
Analysis · LUV · Energy & Transportation
The 10-Q puts full numbers behind Tuesday's earnings release. Third-quarter net income was $270 million ($0.55 diluted) on record revenue of $8.4 billion, but the swing factor is fuel: expense jumped 61.7% to $2.15 billion as the price per gallon rose to $3.92 from $2.40, and Southwest no longer hedges after closing its fuel program in 2025. That exposure is why 2026 EPS guidance was cut to $2.60-$2.85. On the balance sheet, cash stands at $3.6 billion, a new undrawn $2.0 billion revolver and a $1.5 billion term loan sit alongside $14.5 billion of aircraft capital commitments through 2031 — the funding need behind the fleet plan. Buybacks are effectively paused: $1.25 billion was spent in Q1 2026 and only about $450 million remains authorized.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 22, 2026, 29.3% of the 1526 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.41%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, LUV was trading at $41.90 on NYSE in the Energy & Transportation sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $20.6B. The 52-week trading range was $29.26 to $55.11. This filing was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.