Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LUV scored 35.3, SKYW scored 68.4 — SKYW leads.
Compare another set
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
35.3
$41.66 · $20.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
33.1
SKYW leads
SKYW
SkyWest, Inc.
Airlines · Quality-Growth
68.4
$96.52 · $3.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthSKYW+9.1%
Strongest balance sheetSKYW0.86
Highest qualitySKYW71 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueSKYW-69%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
LUV
stronger →← stronger
SKYW
52
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
71
33
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
26
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
91
SKYW is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LUV
SKYW
-$455mF
FCF
$909mC+
+2.1%C
Rev
+9.1%B
0.97C+
D/E
0.86C+
0.7xA
P/S
—
0.20A
PEG
1.66C+
—
P/E
9.6xA
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
LUV
SKYW
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
69% below
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-20%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
+187%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+224%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+284%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LUV
Why this score
Buying back stock
SKYW
Why this score
Buying back stock
Cyclical growth
The companies
LUVSouthwest Airlines Co.
Airlines · $41.66 · beta 1.16
Why now
Airlines · market cap $20.4b. Down 24% from 52-week high of $55.11 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.20 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $49.22 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
ROE 11% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$455m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Net margin 2.8% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
SKYWSkyWest, Inc.
Airlines · $96.52 · beta 1.48
Why now
Airlines · market cap $3.7b. 18% off the 52-week high of $117.72. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $125.33 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
ROE 15% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income.
Risk
Beta 1.48 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where LUV and SKYW diverge
On the headline score the gap is 33.1 points in favor of SKYW. The widest single difference is Value, where SKYW leads by 65.2 points.
ValueLUV 25.7 · SKYW 90.9SKYW +65.2
QualityLUV 52.4 · SKYW 70.5SKYW +18.1
GrowthLUV 32.6 · SKYW 50.0SKYW +17.4
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is SKYW or LUV the better stock?
SKYW scores higher: SKYW 68.4, LUV 35.3 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do SKYW and LUV differ most?
The widest gap is value, where SKYW leads by 65 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. SKYW leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are SKYW and LUV scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.