Southwest Q1 2026: Margin Gains and Record Revenues Drive Transformation
Southwest Airlines reported Q1 2026 results with record revenues of $7.2B, net income $227M ($0.45/sh), and an operating margin of 4.6%—up 8.1 points YoY—driven by its transformational plan and strong demand, generating $1.4B in cash from operations. Customer upgrades surged (~60%), loyalty enrollments rose, and fleet/product upgrades continued (assigned seating, larger overhead bins, Starlink Wi‑Fi). The company announced capacity shifts (suspending O’Hare and Dulles in June) and an ANA partnership, while guiding Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.35–$0.65 and maintaining about 2% full-year capacity growth; 2026 capex is expected to be $3.0–$3.5B. It ended Q1 with $3.3B cash, 2.2x leverage, and $1.25B of share repurchases.







