Delta Air Lines vs Southwest Airlines
Delta Air Lines reported revenue of $63.4 billion in fiscal 2025, 2.3 times Southwest Airlines' $28.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Delta Air Lines' revenue grew 2.8% in its latest year, and Southwest Airlines' grew 2.1%. Delta Air Lines had an operating margin of 9.2%, against 1.5% at Southwest Airlines. Free cash flow was $3.8 billion at Delta Air Lines and −$831 million at Southwest Airlines.
Side by side
| Delta Air Lines | Southwest Airlines | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $63.4B | $28.1B |
| Revenue growth | 2.8% | 2.1% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 30.0% | 25.4% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 9.2% | 1.5% |
| Net margin | 7.9% | 1.6% |
| Free cash flow | $3.8B | −$831M |
| Free cash flow margin | 6.1% | −3.0% |
| Return on capital | 15.9% | 3.7% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.2x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $440M | $2.9B |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.9% | −13.2% |
| Last close | $79.16 | $42.85 |
| P/E at the last close | 15.8× | 20.9× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $122.2 million | sold $306,534 |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 8 | 7 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Delta Air LinesSouthwest Airlines
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Delta Air LinesSouthwest Airlines
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Delta Air LinesSouthwest Airlines
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines pages.