What If You Invested $1,000 in Southwest Airlines (LUV)?
Enter any amount and start date. We use historical prices to show your hypothetical return.
Southwest Airlines
LUV
Historical extremes
Maximum profit (buy at all-time low, sell at peak), maximum drawdown (peak to trough), and total return from IPO to current price.
Max profit
+46229.15% (463.3 times)
- Buy
- Apr 18, 1980
- $0.13
- Sell
- Jan 2, 2018
- $59.96
Buying LUV at the all-time low and selling at the peak would have turned $1,000 into $463,291.45.
Max drawdown
-78.23% (fell to 22% of peak)
- Peak
- Jan 5, 2001
- $19.81
- Trough
- Mar 5, 2009
- $4.31
The worst decline for LUV was -78.23% (fell to 22% of peak) from peak to trough.
IPO to current
+25372.52% (254.7 times)
- IPO
- Jan 2, 1980
- $0.16
- Current
- Mar 16, 2026
- $40.23
A $1,000 investment in LUV at IPO would be worth $254,725.2 today.
Dollar amounts based on selected investment ($1,000)
Frequently asked questions
What is Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock's all-time high and all-time low?
- Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock's all-time low was $0.13 on Apr 18, 1980. The all-time high was $59.96 on Jan 2, 2018.
What if you invested $1,000 in Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock at the all-time low?
- Buying Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock at the all-time low ($0.13 on Apr 18, 1980) and selling at the peak ($59.96 on Jan 2, 2018) would have turned $1,000 into $463,291.45. Historical return: +46229.15% (463.3 times).
What are Southwest Airlines (LUV)'s best buy and sell dates for maximum profit?
- The best buy date for Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock was Apr 18, 1980 (all-time low at $0.13). The best sell date was Jan 2, 2018 at $59.96. This investment would have returned +46229.15% (463.3 times).
What was Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock's maximum drawdown?
- Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock's worst decline was -78.23% (fell to 22% of peak) from peak to trough. Peak: $19.81 on Jan 5, 2001. Trough: $4.31 on Mar 5, 2009. A $1,000 investment at the peak would have been worth $217.74 at the trough.
What if you bought Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock at IPO?
- A $1,000 investment in Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock at IPO ($0.16 on Jan 2, 1980) would be worth $254,725.2 today. Historical return: +25372.52% (254.7 times). Current stock price: $40.23 as of Mar 16, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Southwest Airlines (LUV) 5 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock 5 years ago ($56.33 on Mar 16, 2021) would be worth $714.23 today. Historical return: -28.58% (0.71 times). Current stock price: $40.23 as of Mar 16, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Southwest Airlines (LUV) 10 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock 10 years ago ($39.32 on Mar 16, 2016) would be worth $1,023.04 today. Historical return: +2.30% (1.02 times). Current stock price: $40.23 as of Mar 16, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock 20 years ago ($14.96 on Mar 16, 2006) would be worth $2,689.14 today. Historical return: +168.91% (2.69 times). Current stock price: $40.23 as of Mar 16, 2026.
About this data
- How does the investment calculator work?
- Enter an investment amount and a start date. We use historical stock prices to calculate how many shares you would have bought, then apply the current price to show your hypothetical portfolio value and return.
- What are Historical extremes?
- Max profit: buy at all-time low, sell at the highest price after. Max drawdown: the largest peak-to-trough decline in price. IPO to current: total return from IPO date to the latest price.
- What is Max drawdown?
- Maximum drawdown is the largest peak-to-trough decline in price. It shows the worst drop from any prior high to a subsequent low. Peak and Trough are the dates and prices at which this decline occurred.
- Does this include dividends?
- The calculator uses adjusted closing prices when available, which account for stock splits and dividends. For the most accurate results, we recommend using data that includes dividend adjustments.
- Where does the price data come from?
- Historical prices are from Yahoo Finance, adjusted for stock splits and dividends. We use adjusted close for all calculations.
- How are the dollar amounts in the cards calculated?
- The dollar amounts in Historical extremes use the investment amount you select in the calculator above (e.g. $1,000). They show what your investment would have been worth at the Buy/Peak/IPO date versus the Sell/Trough/Current date.
- What date range can I use?
- The available date range depends on our historical price data for LUV. You can select any date between our first and most recent data point.