Southwest Airlines Company drawdown: 38.2% below the all-time high
Southwest Airlines Company is 38.2% below its all-time high, set Jan 2, 2018 (as of market close, Sep 18, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.
- Below all-time high
- −38.2%
- 61.8% of ATH
- All-time high
- $66.29
- Jan 2, 2018
- Time below the high
- 8.7 yrs
- since Jan 2, 2018
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −78.5%
- Mar 5, 2009
- Longest underwater
- 13.2 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Nov 28, 2014
- 11.8 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- Sep 18, 2013
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 1980#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5, 2001 | Mar 5, 2009 | −78.5% | 8.2 yrs | Mar 10, 2014 | 13.2 yrs |
| Jan 2, 2018 | Oct 31, 2023 | −66.5% | 5.8 yrs | not yet | 8.7 yrs+ |
| Jul 22, 1983 | Dec 10, 1987 | −66.2% | 4.4 yrs | Jan 31, 1991 | 7.5 yrs |
| Feb 3, 1994 | Dec 20, 1994 | −59.4% | 11 mo | Jan 20, 1998 | 4.0 yrs |
| May 29, 1981 | Sep 25, 1981 | −49.4% | 4 mo | Sep 2, 1982 | 15 mo |
| Apr 23, 1999 | Sep 22, 1999 | −37.5% | 5 mo | Jul 31, 2000 | 15 mo |
| Jan 29, 2015 | Jul 8, 2015 | −31.1% | 5 mo | Nov 20, 2015 | 10 mo |
| Dec 7, 2015 | Feb 8, 2016 | −30.0% | 2 mo | Dec 7, 2016 | 12 mo |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 1980: how far Southwest Airlines Company stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ#
- How far is Southwest Airlines Company from its all-time high?
- Southwest Airlines Company is currently 38.2% below its all-time high, set Jan 2, 2018 (as of market close, Sep 18, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest Southwest Airlines Company drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 1980) took Southwest Airlines Company 78.5% below its prior high, bottoming Mar 5, 2009. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from LUV; no free deep history exists for Southwest Airlines Company — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.