What is an income statement waterfall?

An income statement waterfall is a bar chart that walks from total revenue down to net income, with each step showing how much a cost or tax line removes (or adds). Subtotals — gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income — are anchored to zero so the cascade reconciles exactly to the bottom line.

How much of Southwest Airlines (LUV) revenue becomes net income?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Southwest Airlines turned $28.88B of revenue into $817.00M of net income — a net margin of 2.8%. The waterfall shows where the rest goes: cost of revenue, operating expenses, non-operating items, and taxes.

What are Southwest Airlines (LUV) gross, operating, and net margins?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Southwest Airlines reported a gross margin of 16.5%, an operating margin of 3.4%, and a net margin of 2.8%. Each subtotal in the waterfall corresponds to one of these margins.

Why does Southwest Airlines (LUV) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

Gross margin (gross profit ÷ revenue) reflects how much of each revenue dollar remains after direct production costs. Capital-light software and platform businesses often show gross margins above 60–80% because their cost of revenue is mainly hosting and support. Hardware, retail, and commodity businesses show lower gross margins because raw materials and manufacturing costs are significant. The waterfall makes this visible at a glance — the size of the "Cost of Revenue" bar relative to Revenue is the gross margin complement.

What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Gross margin = (Revenue − Cost of Revenue) ÷ Revenue. It measures production efficiency. Operating margin = Operating Income ÷ Revenue. It adds operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and measures the profitability of core operations. Net margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue. It also includes interest, other income/expense, and taxes, and represents the shareholder take after everything.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) Income Statement Waterfall

Revenue

$28.88B

Gross Margin

+16.5%

Operating Margin

+3.4%

Net Margin

+2.8%

Income statement waterfall for Southwest Airlines (LUV) — TTM through Q1 2026

Net income: $817.00M

Margin breakdown for Southwest Airlines (LUV) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Revenue	$28.88B	$28.88B
Cost of Revenue	−$24.13B	$4.75B
Gross Profit	$4.75B	$4.75B
Operating Expenses	−$3.77B	$981.00M
Operating Income	$981.00M	$981.00M
Other Income / Expense	$59.00M	$1.04B
Pre-tax Income	$1.04B	$1.04B
Income Tax	−$223.00M	$817.00M
Net Income	$817.00M	$817.00M

Revenue$28.88B
Cost of Revenue−$24.13B
Gross Profit$4.75B
Operating Expenses−$3.77B
Operating Income$981.00M
Other Income / Expense$59.00M
Pre-tax Income$1.04B
Income Tax−$223.00M
Net Income$817.00M

Want to see what changed vs last year?Profit Bridge

Frequently asked questions

Data & methodology

Southwest Airlines (LUV) Key Financials

Charts, filings, and peer comparison for every metric

Explore more

Deep-dives across the income statement, cash flow, capital return, and valuation

Income statement waterfall for Southwest Airlines (LUV) — TTM through Q1 2026

Margin breakdown for Southwest Airlines (LUV) — TTM through Q1 2026

Frequently asked questions

+What is an income statement waterfall?

+How much of Southwest Airlines (LUV) revenue becomes net income?

+What are Southwest Airlines (LUV) gross, operating, and net margins?

+Why does Southwest Airlines (LUV) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

+What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Data & methodology

+What is this view?

+How to read this waterfall

+How is the data calculated?

+What is the USD toggle?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) Key Financials

Explore more