Operating Cash Flow
Southwest Airlines Operating Cash Flow increased by 380.7% to $1.42B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 64.9%, from $860.00M to $1.42B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Operating Cash Flow shows a downward trend with a -5.6% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase indicates strong operational efficiency and cash generation, while a decrease may signal operational challenges or issues with working capital management.
Detailed definition
This metric represents the total cash generated or consumed by a company's core business operations during a specific pe...
Peer comparison
Standard across all industries; peers in the medical device and diagnostics sector typically maintain high conversion ratios of net income to operating cash flow.
net_cash_from_operatingHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $2.01B | -$575.00M | $247.00M | $1.07B | $1.91B | $234.00M | $579.00M | $706.00M | $1.42B | $616.00M | $425.00M | -$104.00M | -$23.00M | $113.00M | $476.00M | $860.00M | $401.00M | $287.00M | $295.00M | $1.42B |
| QoQ Change | — | -128.7% | +143.0% | +333.6% | +78.0% | -87.7% | +147.4% | +21.9% | +100.6% | -56.5% | -31.0% | -124.5% | +77.9% | +591.3% | +321.2% | +80.7% | -53.4% | -28.4% | +2.8% | +380.7% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -4.9% | +140.7% | +134.4% | -34.1% | -25.7% | +163.2% | -26.6% | -114.7% | -101.6% | -81.7% | +12.0% | +926.9% | >999% | +154.0% | -38.0% | +64.9% |
Operating Cash Flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Southwest Airlines's operating cash flow?
- Southwest Airlines (LUV) reported operating cash flow of $1.42B in Q1 2026.
- How has Southwest Airlines's operating cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Southwest Airlines's operating cash flow increased by 64.9% year-over-year, from $860.00M to $1.42B.
- What is the long-term trend for Southwest Airlines's operating cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Southwest Airlines's operating cash flow has grown at a -5.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.32B to $1.84B.
- What does operating cash flow mean?
- The amount of cash a company generates from its regular business activities.