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Side-by-side financial comparison of Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Qualcomm (QCOM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Qualcomm is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($12.3B vs $7.2B, roughly 1.7× Southwest Airlines). Qualcomm runs the higher net margin — 24.5% vs 3.1%, a 21.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Southwest Airlines posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (12.8% vs 5.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Qualcomm's revenue compounded faster (14.2% CAGR vs -0.7%).

Southwest Airlines is a major low-cost airline of the United States. It is headquartered in the Love Field neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It is the fourth-largest airline in North America when measured by passengers carried, as of 2024. With its all-Boeing 737 fleet, Southwest serves over 100 destinations in 42 states, Washington, D.C.

Qualcomm Incorporated is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4G, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WCDMA mobile communications standards.

LUV vs QCOM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
QCOM
QCOM
1.7× larger
QCOM
$12.3B
$7.2B
LUV
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LUV
LUV
+7.8% gap
LUV
12.8%
5.0%
QCOM
Higher net margin
QCOM
QCOM
21.4% more per $
QCOM
24.5%
3.1%
LUV
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
QCOM
QCOM
Annualised
QCOM
14.2%
-0.7%
LUV

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Revenue
$7.2B
$12.3B
Net Profit
$227.0M
$3.0B
Gross Margin
54.6%
Operating Margin
27.5%
Net Margin
3.1%
24.5%
Revenue YoY
12.8%
5.0%
Net Profit YoY
252.3%
-5.5%
EPS (diluted)
$0.45
$2.78

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$7.2B
Q4 25
$7.4B
$12.3B
Q3 25
$6.9B
$11.3B
Q2 25
$7.2B
$10.4B
Q1 25
$6.4B
$11.0B
Q4 24
$6.9B
$11.7B
Q3 24
$6.9B
$10.2B
Q2 24
$7.4B
$9.4B
Net Profit
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$227.0M
Q4 25
$323.0M
$3.0B
Q3 25
$54.0M
$-3.1B
Q2 25
$213.0M
$2.7B
Q1 25
$-149.0M
$2.8B
Q4 24
$262.0M
$3.2B
Q3 24
$67.0M
$2.9B
Q2 24
$367.0M
$2.1B
Gross Margin
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
Q4 25
54.6%
Q3 25
55.3%
Q2 25
55.6%
Q1 25
55.0%
Q4 24
55.8%
Q3 24
56.4%
Q2 24
55.6%
Operating Margin
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
Q4 25
5.3%
27.5%
Q3 25
0.5%
25.9%
Q2 25
3.1%
26.6%
Q1 25
-3.5%
28.4%
Q4 24
4.0%
30.5%
Q3 24
0.6%
25.2%
Q2 24
5.4%
23.6%
Net Margin
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
3.1%
Q4 25
4.3%
24.5%
Q3 25
0.8%
-27.7%
Q2 25
2.9%
25.7%
Q1 25
-2.3%
25.6%
Q4 24
3.8%
27.3%
Q3 24
1.0%
28.5%
Q2 24
5.0%
22.7%
EPS (diluted)
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$0.45
Q4 25
$0.56
$2.78
Q3 25
$0.10
$-2.77
Q2 25
$0.39
$2.43
Q1 25
$-0.26
$2.52
Q4 24
$0.46
$2.83
Q3 24
$0.11
$2.57
Q2 24
$0.58
$1.88

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$3.3B
$11.8B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$5.4B
$14.8B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$6.9B
$23.1B
Total Assets
$20.4B
$53.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.78×
0.64×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$3.3B
Q4 25
$3.2B
$11.8B
Q3 25
$3.0B
$10.2B
Q2 25
$3.8B
$10.0B
Q1 25
$8.3B
$13.8B
Q4 24
$8.7B
$14.3B
Q3 24
$9.4B
$13.3B
Q2 24
$10.0B
$13.0B
Total Debt
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$5.4B
Q4 25
$4.6B
$14.8B
Q3 25
$4.1B
$14.8B
Q2 25
$4.1B
$14.8B
Q1 25
$4.1B
$13.3B
Q4 24
$5.1B
$13.2B
Q3 24
$5.1B
$13.3B
Q2 24
$5.1B
$13.2B
Stockholders' Equity
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$6.9B
Q4 25
$8.0B
$23.1B
Q3 25
$7.8B
$21.2B
Q2 25
$8.0B
$27.2B
Q1 25
$9.4B
$27.7B
Q4 24
$10.3B
$26.9B
Q3 24
$10.4B
$26.3B
Q2 24
$10.5B
$24.7B
Total Assets
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$20.4B
Q4 25
$29.1B
$53.0B
Q3 25
$28.3B
$50.1B
Q2 25
$28.7B
$54.9B
Q1 25
$33.2B
$55.4B
Q4 24
$33.8B
$55.6B
Q3 24
$34.8B
$55.2B
Q2 24
$35.6B
$52.7B
Debt / Equity
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
0.78×
Q4 25
0.57×
0.64×
Q3 25
0.52×
0.70×
Q2 25
0.51×
0.54×
Q1 25
0.44×
0.48×
Q4 24
0.49×
0.49×
Q3 24
0.49×
0.51×
Q2 24
0.48×
0.53×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.4B
$5.0B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$4.4B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
36.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
8.7%
4.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
6.25×
1.65×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$12.9B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$294.0M
$5.0B
Q3 25
$287.0M
$4.0B
Q2 25
$401.0M
$2.9B
Q1 25
$860.0M
$2.6B
Q4 24
$476.0M
$4.6B
Q3 24
$113.0M
$2.6B
Q2 24
$-23.0M
$3.1B
Free Cash Flow
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-565.0M
$4.4B
Q3 25
$-391.0M
$3.6B
Q2 25
$-234.0M
$2.6B
Q1 25
$359.0M
$2.3B
Q4 24
$16.0M
$4.3B
Q3 24
$-404.0M
$2.4B
Q2 24
$-517.0M
$2.7B
FCF Margin
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
Q4 25
-7.6%
36.0%
Q3 25
-5.6%
31.8%
Q2 25
-3.2%
24.9%
Q1 25
5.6%
21.3%
Q4 24
0.2%
36.9%
Q3 24
-5.9%
23.3%
Q2 24
-7.0%
28.4%
Capex Intensity
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
8.7%
Q4 25
11.5%
4.5%
Q3 25
9.8%
3.6%
Q2 25
8.8%
2.8%
Q1 25
7.8%
1.9%
Q4 24
6.6%
2.4%
Q3 24
7.5%
2.5%
Q2 24
6.7%
4.1%
Cash Conversion
LUV
LUV
QCOM
QCOM
Q1 26
6.25×
Q4 25
0.91×
1.65×
Q3 25
5.31×
Q2 25
1.88×
1.08×
Q1 25
0.91×
Q4 24
1.82×
1.44×
Q3 24
1.69×
0.91×
Q2 24
-0.06×
1.43×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LUV
LUV

Passenger$6.6B91%
Other$614.0M8%
Freight$44.0M1%

QCOM
QCOM

Handsets$7.8B64%
Io T$1.7B14%
Qtl$1.6B13%
Automotive$1.1B9%

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