Southwest Airlines (LUV) earnings Q3 2025

Southwest Airlines It reported a surprise profit for the third quarter on Wednesday and said it expected to achieve record sales in the final three months of the year, thanks to better travel demand and higher fares.

The carrier said it expects unit revenue to increase between 1% and 3% in the fourth quarter, while capacity will increase 6% compared to the same period last year.

“This guidance range assumes demand strength will remain at current levels through the end of the quarter,” Southwest said. he said.

Here’s Southwest’s performance: Period ending September 30 LSEG’s consensus estimates compare to Wall Street expectations:

• Earnings per share: Adjusted 11 cents, expected loss of 3 cents
• Revenues: 6.95 billion dollars, while the expectation was 6.92 billion dollars

In July, Southwest joined other airlines in lowering their 2025 profit forecast. The Dallas airline said it expects full-year pretax earnings to be between $600 million and $800 million, down from a previous forecast of $1.7 billion. It reaffirmed its earnings outlook on Wednesday.

The carrier is working to better compete with its rivals and increase sales; It is abandoning long-held policies such as open seating and two free checked bags per passenger.

Southwest CFO Tom Doxey told CNBC in an interview that the increase in sales from seat sales will occur in the first quarter when the first flights without open seating begin.

Southwest’s third-quarter profit fell more than 19% year over year, from $67 million to $54 million. On a per-share basis, Southwest’s earnings fell to 10 cents from 11 cents a year earlier.

Accounting for one-time items, Southwest reported third-quarter earnings of $58 million, or 11 cents per share.

Revenue rose 1% year-over-year to $6.95 billion.