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STOCK COMPARISON

Delta Air Lines vs Southwest Airlines: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Delta Air Lines as the more attractively valued of the two: Delta Air Lines trades at $78.75 versus a fair value of $96.56 (+23%), while Southwest Airlines trades at $38.73 versus $22.85 (-41%).
Delta Air Lines
DAL · USD · Industrials
+23%
upside to fair value
undervalued
Price$78.75
Fair Value$96.56
Quality48/100
Southwest Airlines
LUV · USD · Industrials
-41%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$38.73
Fair Value$22.85
Quality57/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

Delta Air LinesSouthwest Airlines
Valuation
14.4×P/E (TTM)31.9×
0.81×P/S (TTM)0.81×
2.67×P/B2.91×
8.5×EV/EBITDA11.1×
39.29×PEG0.35×
+22.6%Fair value upside−41.0%
1.0%Dividend yield1.9%
$0.78Dividend per share$0.72
Profitability
8%Operating margin5%
20%Return on equity10%
4%Return on assets2%
Growth
19%Revenue growth (YoY)13%
7.8%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)5.6%
30.0%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)25.4%
+15.6%Value creation/yr−21.2%
Balance & size
8.6×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)3.8×
0.60×Debt / equity0.57×
$55BMarket cap$23B
healthyGrowth qualityexpensive

Delta Air Lines leads: 11 to 3 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

Delta Air Linesof which business quality 48 · market factors 60 Southwest Airlinesof which business quality 54 · market factors 47
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
52
35
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
36
55
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
46
35
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
38
42
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
51
86
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
43
45
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
69
49
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
65
48
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
74
100

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyDelta Air LinesPrice $78.75Southwest AirlinesPrice $38.73
DCF Models+48%above the price$117n/a
Earnings-Based-24%below the price$60.01-79%below the price$8.08
Dividend Discount-85%below the price$11.58-63%below the price$14.36
Multiples+70%above the price$134-60%below the price$15.34
Asset-Based-73%below the price$21.14-72%below the price$10.94
Growth DCF+26%above the price$99.27n/a
Economic Profit-1%close to the price$77.60-77%below the price$8.74
Growth Earnings+83%above the price$144-62%below the price$14.76
Minimum-85%below the price$11.58-79%below the price$8.08
Maximum+83%above the price$144-60%below the price$15.34
Median+12%close to the price$88.44-67%below the price$12.65
Geometric mean-20%below the price$63.20-70%below the price$11.66

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

Delta Air Lines: 8 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Southwest Airlines: 15 of 16 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

Delta Air Lines
Bear $54.89Fair Value $96.56Bull $136
$78.75 = current price (white tick)
Southwest Airlines
Bear $17.80Fair Value $22.85Bull $29.67
$38.73 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

Delta Air Lines · Industrials

Quality score48 · below median
Fair value upside+23% · above median

Southwest Airlines · Industrials

Quality score57 · above median
Fair value upside-41% · below median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Delta Air Lines as the more attractively valued of the two: Delta Air Lines trades at $78.75 versus a fair value of $96.56 (+23%), while Southwest Airlines trades at $38.73 versus $22.85 (-41%).

Southwest Airlines has the higher quality score (57/100).

See the full analysis →
Delta Air Lines · Southwest Airlines

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.