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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings vs Southwest Airlines Co.: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Southwest Airlines Co holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across valuation and growth. Knight-Swift Transportation does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. In the market, Knight-Swift Transportation carries the stronger setup — intact trend against Southwest Airlines Co's broken trend. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with Southwest Airlines Co, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

This is not just a one-metric split: both valuation and growth materially support the lead. Southwest Airlines Co. leads by 34 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.74
Similar
Peer-set rank: #1
within Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.'s functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

The strongest overlap appears in revenue stability and investment intensity.

Similarity drivers
revenue stabilityinvestment intensity
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
KNX
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.
10
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
44
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: KNX vs LUV Profitability 0 29 Stability 31 30 Valuation 8 67 Growth 5 48 KNX LUV
Gap Ranking
#1 Valuation +59
#2 Growth +43
#3 Profitability +29
#4 Stability +1
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for KNX and LUV Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer KNXLUV Relative valuation Structural strength

Southwest Airlines Co. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where KNX and LUV each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY KNX Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 24 pct gap LUV Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 97th 73rd
Today LUV sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (73rd percentile), while KNX sits higher in its own history (97th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, LUV is at a historically more favourable entry position than KNX. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Valuation
Southwest Airlines Co. ranks near the top of the group on valuation; Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
Growth also leans toward Southwest Airlines Co., reinforcing the broader structural lead.
Valuation — Dominant Gap
KNX
8
LUV
67
Gap+59in favour of LUV

The multiple-based pricing edge comes from a forward P/E that is 11.3 turns lower.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. still carries lower volatility exposure — that difference is real enough to prevent the comparison from becoming one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both valuation and growth, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the KNX vs LUV comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar valuation-and-growth comparisons

Explore how KNX and LUV each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.