Southwest Airlines Q1 net income $227 million, $0.45 a share, versus loss a year ago
Southwest reported first-quarter 2026 operating revenues of $7.2 billion, up 12.8% year-over-year, and net income of $227 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $149 million a year earlier. The company guided second-quarter adjusted EPS to $0.35 to $0.65 but did not update its full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $4.00, citing macroeconomic uncertainty and higher fuel expense.
Key points
- Operating revenues of $7.2 billion, up 12.8% year-over-year; operating margin of 4.6% versus a loss-based margin of (3.5)% a year earlier
- Second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $0.35 to $0.65, based on fuel cost of $4.10 to $4.15 per gallon; full-year $4.00 adjusted EPS guidance not updated
- First-quarter fuel cost of $2.73 per gallon, above prior guidance of about $2.40, increasing fuel expense by $164 million
- Generated $1.4 billion in operating cash flow and repurchased $1.25 billion in shares during the quarter
The filing
Written by AI on Nov 8, 2026, 12:42 AM ET, from this filing only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on April 22, 2026.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the AI's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.