How many employees does Southwest Airlines Co. have?

Southwest Airlines Co. reported 72,790 employees for the fiscal year ending Dec 2025, in the annual report it filed on February 5, 2026. That is up 0.5% from a year earlier.

What is Southwest Airlines Co.'s revenue per employee?

Southwest Airlines Co. brought in $28.1B of revenue in fiscal Dec 2025, which is $386K per employee. That ranks 5 of 6 companies we track in Airlines, Airports & Air Services, where the median is $394K.

Where do these numbers come from?

Employee counts and revenue are taken from each company's own annual report (Form 10-K). Open roles are counted from the company's public job board where we have matched one. Companies report headcount once a year, sometimes rounded, so small changes can be noise.

Company data

Southwest Airlines Co. employees and revenue per employee

LUV · Airlines, Airports & Air Services · $20.8B market cap

Southwest Airlines Co. had 72,790 employees at the end of fiscal Dec 2025, up 0.5% from a year earlier. Revenue for the year was $28.1B, up 2.1% from a year earlier, or $386K per employee. Revenue and headcount both grew, and revenue grew faster.

Employees

72,790

+0.5% YoY

Revenue

$28.1B

+2.1% YoY

Revenue / employee

$386K

Peer median $394K

Rank in industry

5 of 6

Airlines, Airports & Air Services

Headcount against revenue

Both lines start at 100 in the first year we hold, so you can see which one grew faster.

EmployeesRevenueIndexed to 100 in Dec 2016

Hover a year for the numbers.

LUV employees and revenue by fiscal year
Year ending	Employees	Revenue	Per employee	Staff YoY	Revenue YoY
Dec 2025	72,790	$28.1B	$386K	+0.5%	+2.1%
Dec 2024	72,450	$27.5B	$379K	-3.1%	+5.3%
Dec 2023	74,806	$26.1B	$349K	+12.2%	+9.6%
Dec 2022	66,656	$23.8B	$357K	+21.0%	+50.8%
Dec 2021	55,100	$15.8B	$287K	-2.5%	+74.5%
Dec 2020	56,500	$9.05B	$160K	-7.1%	-59.7%
Dec 2019	60,800	$22.4B	$369K	+3.4%	+2.1%
Dec 2018	58,800	$22.0B	$374K	+4.8%	+3.8%
Dec 2017	56,100	$21.2B	$377K	+4.9%	+3.7%
Dec 2016	53,500	$20.4B	$382K	—	—

Open roles: we have not matched a verified job board for this company yet.

Employees, last six fiscal years

Revenue per employee, last six fiscal years

Southwest Airlines Co. against similar companies

The closest industry peers by revenue, from Airlines, Airports & Air Services.

Company	Employees	Revenue	Revenue / employee	Shape
DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.	100,000	$63.4B	$634K	Leaner
UAL United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	113,200	$59.1B	$522K	Hiring ahead
ALK Alaska Air Group, Inc.	35,951	$14.2B	$396K	Efficient growth
AAL American Airlines Group Inc.	139,100	$54.6B	$393K	Hiring ahead
LUV Southwest Airlines Co.	72,790	$28.1B	$386K	Efficient growth
JOBY Joby Aviation, Inc.	2,559	$53.4M	$21K	Efficient growth

Every Industrials company

Questions about Southwest Airlines Co.

How many employees does Southwest Airlines Co. have?: Southwest Airlines Co. reported 72,790 employees for the fiscal year ending Dec 2025, in the annual report it filed on February 5, 2026. That is up 0.5% from a year earlier.
What is Southwest Airlines Co.'s revenue per employee?: Southwest Airlines Co. brought in $28.1B of revenue in fiscal Dec 2025, which is $386K per employee. That ranks 5 of 6 companies we track in Airlines, Airports & Air Services, where the median is $394K.
Where do these numbers come from?: Employee counts and revenue are taken from each company's own annual report (Form 10-K). Open roles are counted from the company's public job board where we have matched one. Companies report headcount once a year, sometimes rounded, so small changes can be noise.

Free game

Think you can pick better than the S&P 500?

Pick 15 stocks, lock them in, and we score them against the index every trading day for ten years. Free, with a public leaderboard.

Enter the challenge

More data

Compare LUV with the rest of the market

See who earns the most per employee, who is hiring, and who is cutting, across every company we track.

Leaderboard Industrials

Source: employee counts and revenue as stated in Southwest Airlines Co.'s annual reports (Form 10-K), latest filed February 5, 2026. This is data, not a recommendation to buy or sell LUV.