JetBlue vs Southwest Airlines
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put JetBlue and Southwest Airlines side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Southwest Airlines is the larger business, with $28.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $9.1B for JetBlue, about 3.1 times as much.
- Southwest Airlines grew revenue faster (2.1%, against −2.3%).
- Southwest Airlines kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (1.5% operating margin, against −4.1%).
- Southwest Airlines turned more of its sales into free cash flow (−3.0% FCF margin, against −12.9%).
- Southwest Airlines earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (3.7%, against −3.6%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
JetBlue
JBLU
0/10
Southwest Airlines
LUV
10/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | JBLU FY25 | LUV FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $891M | $21.2B |
| Revenue | $9.1B | $28.1B |
| Free cash flow | −$1.2B | −$831M |
| Net income | −$602M | $441M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −2.3% | 2.1% |
| 5-year growth | 25.1% | 25.4% |
| Share count change | 4.7% | −13.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | −4.1% | 1.5% |
| Net margin | −6.6% | 1.6% |
| FCF margin | −12.9% | −3.0% |
| Return on capital | −3.6% | 3.7% |
| Return on equity | −25.3% | 4.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $6.3B | $1.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 19.8x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $2.9B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 20.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 3 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.