LUV (Southwest Airlines Co) Moat Score : 6/10 (As of Jul. 19, 2025)

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What is Southwest Airlines Co Moat Score?

Southwest Airlines Co has the Moat Score of 6, which implies that the company might have Narrow Moat - Strong narrow moat, clearly distinguishable but not wide.

Southwest Airlines Co has Narrow Moat: Southwest Airlines has a strong narrow moat with a superior distribution network, strong brand, and cost advantages. However, it faces intense competition and lacks significant pricing power in the airline industry.

Moat Score is a ranking system developed by GuruFocus to assess a company's ability to sustain a competitive advantage, rated on a scale from 0 to 10. It takes into account key factors such as market leadership, cost advantages, network effects, customer switching costs, and more.

The company's Moat Score is based on these criteria:

1. Market leadership and sustainable market share
2. Network effects and significant customer switching costs
3. Valuable intellectual property and patents
4. Strong brand strength and deep customer loyalty
5. Durable cost advantages (e.g., economies of scale, proprietary technology)
6. Significant regulatory barriers and exclusive licenses
7. Superior distribution network
8. Strong and sustainable pricing power
9. Consistent and impactful innovation and R&D capabilities

Based on the research, GuruFocus believes Southwest Airlines Co might have Narrow Moat - Strong narrow moat, clearly distinguishable but not wide.

Competitive Comparison of Southwest Airlines Co's Moat Score

For the Airlines subindustry, Southwest Airlines Co's Moat Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Moat Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Southwest Airlines Co's Moat Score Distribution in the Transportation Industry

For the Transportation industry and Industrials sector, Southwest Airlines Co's Moat Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Southwest Airlines Co's Moat Score falls into.

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Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) Moat Score Explanation

The Moat Score ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 as the highest. GuruFocus divided Moat Score into following 8 categories:

Moat Score	Moat Level
10	Wide Moat - Exceptionally dominant and durable wide moat
8 - 9	Wide Moat - Clear and robust wide moat
7	Wide Moat - Entry-level wide moat, clearly possessing durable advantages
6	Narrow Moat - Strong narrow moat, clearly distinguishable but not wide
5	Narrow Moat - Solid narrow moat
4	Narrow Moat - Discernible but modest moat
1 - 3	No Moat - Very weak/transient advantages
0	No Moat - No discernible moat

Southwest Airlines Co Moat Score Related Terms

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Southwest Airlines Co Business Description

Industry

GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Industrials » Transportation » Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) » Definitions » Moat Score

Comparable Companies

Traded in Other Exchanges

LUV:Mexico 0L8F:UK SWN:Germany SWN:Germany S1OU34:Brazil LUV:Austria

Address

P.O. Box 36611, Dallas, TX, USA, 75235-1611

Website

https://www.southwest.com

Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic air carrier in the United States by passengers boarded. Southwest operates nearly 800 aircraft in an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Despite offering some longer routes and a few perks for business travelers, the airline predominantly specializes in short-haul, leisure flights operated in a single, open-seating cabin configuration in a point-to-point network. In late 2025, Southwest will modify its cabins to offer some seats with extra legroom and will update its ticketing process and merchandising to offer assigned seats and more fare categories including a basic economy class that will more directly compete with other airlines' offerings.

Executives

David P Hess	director	390 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK NY 10022
Christopher P. Reynolds	director	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Linda B. Rutherford	officer: EVP People and Communications	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Roy Blunt	director	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Elaine Mendoza	director	2223 POSTOAK COURT, SAN ANTONIO TX 78248
Eduardo F Conrado	director	1303 E. ALGONQUIN ROAD, SCHAUMBURG IL 60196
Ryan C. Green	officer: EVP, Chief Commercial Officer	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Jill A. Soltau	director	123 SOUTH FRONT STREET, MEMPHIS TN 38103
John T Montford	director	C/O SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO, 2702 LOVE FIELD DR PO BOX 36611, DALLAS TX 75235-1611
Thomas W. Gilligan	director	C/O KB HOME, 10990 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, 7TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES CA 90024
Robert E Jordan	officer: EVP - Strategy and Planning	C/O SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., 2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, DALLAS TX 75235
Gregory D Wells	officer: EVP, Daily Operations	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Alan Kasher	officer: EVP Daily Operations	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Mark R Shaw	officer: SVP,Gen Counsel,Corp.Secretary	2702 LOVE FIELD DRIVE, HDQ 4GC, DALLAS TX 75235
Tammy Romo	officer: SR VP Finance & CFO	C/O SOUTHWEST AIRINES CO., 2702 LOVE FIELD DR., DALLAS TX 75235