Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Jan 30, 2025, 12:30 p.m. ET

Southwest is optimistic about achieving ambitious goals in 2025 but "a lot depends on Boeing," CEO Bob Jordan says.

The largest city in Tennessee is set to welcome flights to Austin, Nashville, New Orleans, and Fort Lauderdale over the next several months.

Southwest Airlines stock was falling on Thursday after the carrier’s fourth-quarter revenue and forward guidance both came in a little short of Wall Street’s expectations. Shares fell 2.7% to $30.80 in premarket trading.

Southwest's CEO Bob Jordan said "our hearts go out" to people on the American Airlines flight involved in Wednesday night’s midair collision with a helicopter in the nation’s capital.

The airline also forecast better-than-expected unit revenue (RASM), a proxy for pricing power, for the first quarter. Airlines across the U.S. have cut seating to boost fares after a surplus capacity, introduced last summer in anticipation of a demand surge, forced airlines to offer discounts and sacrifice margins.

Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it faces higher costs in 2025 as inflation persists, but it managed to swing to a fourth-quarter profit due to a boost from lower fuel prices.

Analyst Ravi Shanker of Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating on Southwest Airlines (LUV – Research Report), retaining the price target of

Bernstein analyst David Vernon has maintained their neutral stance on LUV stock, giving a Hold rating on January 17.Invest with Confidence:

A downbeat outlook tarnished an otherwise strong quarter for Southwest, which topped profit estimates on robust holiday travel.

Prominent U.S. airline Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) reported mixed fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, Jan. 30. Adjusted EPS of $0.56 surpassed analyst consensus expectations of $0.46, showing a robust 21.7% outperformance. Operating revenue of $6.93 billion slightly missed the forecasted $6.96 billion.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is shifting about 270 pilots from key bases in Denver and Atlanta while bulking up its presence in Baltimore and Nashville.