Why Southwest Stock Dropped Today

By Rich Smith – Mar 6, 2026 at 2:58PM ESTKey PointsUnited Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says oil prices are driving up jet fuel prices -- and his own company's costs.Southwest will face a similar dilemma.Southwest Airlines (LUV 5.51%) stock tumbled 6.5% through 2:35 p.m. ET Friday. Don't blame Southwest for the slide, though.

Blame United Airlines (UAL 3.52%) instead. Image source: Getty Images. United CEO sounds the alarm Speaking at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on Friday, United CEO Scott Kirby said oil prices, which skyrocketed this week due to conflict in the Middle East, will have a "meaningful" impact on United's Q1 financial results. (United stock is now down 3.3%.) It makes sense that other airlines might suffer similarly. Oil prices are up 36% since bombs began falling on Iran last week, according to data from OilPrice.com, with Brent crude prices approaching $93 a barrel. Worse news for airlines, jet fuel prices are up 58% over the same period, hitting $3.95 per gallon Friday, according to CNBC. Fuel is generally considered the second-largest cost for running an airline. If this is a problem for United (and the CEO says it is), it will be a problem for Southwest as well. ExpandNYSE: LUVSouthwest AirlinesToday's Change(-5.51%) $-2.42Current Price$41.48Key Data PointsMarket Cap$22BDay's Range$40.47 - $43.0052wk Range$23.82 - $55.11Volume556KAvg Vol11MGross Margin18.66%Dividend Yield1.64% What does this mean for Southwest stock? If there's good news to report, it's that as a mostly domestic airline, Southwest at least doesn't need to contend with customers canceling flights (or seeing them canceled involuntarily) to avoid a war zone. CNBC also noted that some 25,000 flights through the Mideast have already been canceled. United's CEO said demand hasn't been a problem for it yet, either. With revenue up 20% in Q1, Kirby said his airline "has not taken even a tiny step back" on the demand front. Only one week into the war, I wouldn't bet on this holding true forever. But at least it's one thing Southwest investors don't need to worry about.Read NextNov 3, 2025 •By Todd ShriberIs This Texas-Based Company a Buy in Airline Stocks?Aug 1, 2025 •By Eric VolkmanWhy Southwest Airlines Stock Dived by Nearly 4% on FridayJul 24, 2025 •By Rich SmithWhy Southwest Airlines Stock Tumbled TodayJul 10, 2025 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Southwest Stock Is Flying Higher TodayMay 27, 2025 •By Eric VolkmanWhy Southwest Airlines Stock Climbed by More Than 5% TodayMay 22, 2025 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Southwest Airlines Lost Altitude TodayAbout the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolStocks MentionedSouthwest AirlinesNYSE: LUV$41.48(-5.51%)-$2.42United AirlinesNASDAQ: UAL$92.11(-3.48%)-$3.32*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.