Southwest Airlines Reports Second Quarter 2025 Net Profit of $213 Million or $0.39 per Diluted Share

Southwest Airlines has reported a second 1quarter 2025 net profit of $213 million or $0.39 per diluted share on a year-over-year decline in revenue of 1.5 percent to $7.24 billion.  At June 30, 2025, the carrier had $3.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Southwest Airlines Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results - Courtesy Southwest Airlines

On Wednesday (July 23, 2025), Southwest Airlines reported their second quarter financial results for the period ending June 30, 2025. The carrier reported a second quarter net profit of $213 million or $0.39 per diluted share on a 1.5 percent year-over-year decrease in revenue to $7.24 billion.  Southwest’s Q2 revenue per available seat mile (RASM) declined 3.1 percent compared to the same period last year to 15.41 cents, while cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 0.7 percent to 14.94 cents.  Costs excluding fuel (CASM-ex) increased 4.6 percent to 12.11 cents.  At the end of the second quarter, Southwest Airlines had $3.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents.  

In Wednesday’s announcement, Southwest Airlines’ President, CEO, and Vice Chairman of the Board, Bob Jordan, said,

“We continued to make meaningful progress against our transformational plan in second quarter, most notably implementing bag fees and a basic economy product.  We had an exceptional operational rollout and continued to deliver outstanding service—a testament to our People.  These initiatives are coming online quickly, and we are pleased with performance thus far, including bag fee revenue exceeding expectations.  We are encouraged by the incremental fare product buy up that is already occurring at this early stage and in advance of assigned and premium seating that we will begin selling next week for flights beginning January 2026.

“We have already realized approximately one-third of our $1.8 billion 2025 initiative EBIT target in first half 2025 and remain highly confident in our ability to realize the remaining amount during the second half of the year, according to our plan.  The value of these initiatives accelerates throughout second half 2025 and even more meaningfully into 2026.  Underscoring belief in our transformational plan, strong management execution, and the ability to deliver significant value for Shareholders, our Board of Directors has authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, expected to be completed over a period of up to two years.”

During the second quarter, Southwest implemented bag fees with the financial benefit exceeding expectations and no negative operational impact.  The carrier also rolled out a new basic economy product structure, laying the foundation for future product differentiation.

Southwest also announced a new partnership with China Airlines, and added three new gateways for their Icelandair partnership.  The airline also announced intention to commence new service at Cyril E. King International Airport in St. Thomas starting early next year.  Additionally, Southwest completed retrofits of more than 220 aircraft for extra legroom seating.  Assigned and Premium seating will be available for booking on July 29, 2025, for travel from January 27, 2026.

The Company has also updated their fleet planning assumptions to 47 Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft deliveries in 2025, from its prior estimate of 38, as Boeing continues to ramp up production.  With these incremental deliveries, the Southwest now expects to retire approximately 55 aircraft in 2025, compared with their previous estimate of approximately 50 retirements this year.  This includes the sale of five Boeing 737-800s, expected to occur in the second half of 2025.  The Company continues to expect additional new aircraft deliveries to facilitate the retirement of aircraft from its existing fleet in support of its fleet monetization and capital allocation strategies.

Founded in 1971, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has distinguished itself by offering exemplary customer service delivered by over 72,000 team members at 117 airports across 11 countries.  Southwest offers a robust point-to-point network with a strong presence across leisure and business markets.  During peak travel seasons, the airline operates more than 4,000 daily departures, and in 2024, Southwest carried over 140 million customers.  Southwest also continues to develop tangible steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering customers the opportunity to help the airline offset carbon emissions. 

Source: Southwest Airlines