Southwest Airlines Returns Value To Shareholders
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") announces the Southwest Airlines Board of Directors, at its meeting held today, increased the Company's quarterly dividend by 12.5 percent and authorized a new
Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We have consistently produced strong margins, returns on capital, and cash flows. I'm pleased to announce the Board's decision today to increase our quarterly dividend by 12.5 percent to
"This share repurchase authorization, combined with our annual dividends, continues our consistent track record of Shareholder returns. Since 2010, we have returned more than
The Company has repurchased approximately 21.7 million shares under the May 2018
The Company's future share repurchases under today's
1Based on approximately 543 million shares of common stock outstanding on May 13, 2019.
2Based on the closing stock price of
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to (i) the Company's expectations and goals with respect to the return of value to Shareholders and (ii) the Company's financial outlook, position, strategies, goals, and expectations. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current intent, expectations, and projections and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Factors include, among others, (i) the impact of governmental regulations and other governmental actions related to the Company and its operations, in particular with respect to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and any related changes in consumer behavior; (ii) the Company's dependence on third parties and the impact on the Company's operations and results of operations of any related third party delays or non-performance; (iii) the impact of changes in consumer behavior, economic conditions, actions of competitors (including without limitation pricing, scheduling, capacity, and network decisions, and consolidation and alliance activities), extreme or severe weather and natural disasters, fears of terrorism or war, and other factors beyond the Company's control, on the Company's business decisions, plans, strategies, and results; (iv) the Company's ability to timely and effectively implement, transition, and maintain the necessary information technology systems and infrastructure to support its operations and initiatives; (v) the impact of fuel price volatility, volatility of commodities used by the Company for hedging jet fuel, and any changes to the Company's fuel hedging strategies and positions, on the Company's business plans and results of operations; and (vi) other factors, as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019.
SW-DSR
SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.