Critical Contrast: Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and Finnair Oyj (OTCMKTS:FNNNF)

Finnair Oyj (OTCMKTS:FNNNF) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Finnair Oyj and Southwest Airlines”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Finnair Oyj	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.47)	-11.86
Southwest Airlines	$28.06 billion	0.77	$441.00 million	$1.63	27.15

Southwest Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than Finnair Oyj. Finnair Oyj is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.3% of Finnair Oyj shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Finnair Oyj and Southwest Airlines, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Finnair Oyj	0	0	0	0	0.00
Southwest Airlines	4	9	9	0	2.23

Southwest Airlines has a consensus price target of $49.55, suggesting a potential upside of 11.98%. Given Southwest Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Southwest Airlines is more favorable than Finnair Oyj.

Profitability

This table compares Finnair Oyj and Southwest Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Finnair Oyj	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Airlines	2.78%	14.15%	3.60%

Summary

Southwest Airlines beats Finnair Oyj on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Finnair Oyj

Finnair Oyj operates in the airline business in North Atlantic, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and internationally. The company offers Finnair and oneworld global network, passenger and cargo traffic, ancillary services, package tours under the Aurinkomatkat-Suntours brand name, and other travel products; and support services comprising catering, aircraft maintenance, ground handling, and airline training. As of December 31, 2023, it operated through a fleet of 55 aircrafts, which included 25 wide-body and 30 narrowbody aircrafts. Finnair Oyj was incorporated in 1923 and is headquartered in Vantaa, Finland.

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.