Qantas Airways (OTCMKTS:QABSY) versus Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Critical Survey

Qantas Airways (OTCMKTS:QABSY) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Qantas Airways and Southwest Airlines”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qantas Airways	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Airlines	$28.06 billion	0.82	$441.00 million	$1.63	28.82

Southwest Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than Qantas Airways.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Qantas Airways and Southwest Airlines, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qantas Airways	1	0	0	0	1.00
Southwest Airlines	4	9	9	0	2.23

Southwest Airlines has a consensus price target of $49.55, indicating a potential upside of 5.49%. Given Southwest Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Southwest Airlines is more favorable than Qantas Airways.

Profitability

This table compares Qantas Airways and Southwest Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qantas Airways	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Airlines	2.78%	14.15%	3.60%

Summary

Southwest Airlines beats Qantas Airways on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways Limited provides air transportation services in Australia and internationally. The company operates through Qantas Domestic, Qantas International, Jetstar Group, and Qantas Loyalty segments. It offers passenger flying, and air cargo and express freight services; and customer loyalty recognition programs. The company operates a fleet of aircraft under the Qantas and Jetstar brands. Qantas Airways Limited was founded in 1920 and is based in Mascot, Australia.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. It also provides inflight entertainment and connectivity services on Wi-Fi enabled aircraft; and Rapid Rewards loyalty program that enables program members to earn points for dollars spent on Southwest base fares. In addition, the company offers a suite of digital platforms to support customers’ travel needs, including websites and apps; and SWABIZ, an online booking tool. Further, it provides ancillary services, such as Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. Southwest Airlines Co. was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.