Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and is traded under the symbol "LUV." The Company currently intends to continue declaring dividends on a quarterly basis for the foreseeable future; however, the Company’s Board of Directors may elect to alter the timing, amount, and payment of dividends on the basis of operational results, financial condition, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board. As of February 1, 2019, there were approximately 12,267 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.

Stock Performance Graph

The following Performance Graph and related information shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or "filed" with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company’s common stock over the five-year period ended December 31, 2018, with the cumulative total return during such period of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Index and the NYSE ARCA Airline Index. The comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2013, in the Company’s common stock and in each of the foregoing indices and assumes reinvestment of dividends. The stock performance shown on the graph below represents historical stock performance and is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

COMPARISON OF FIVE YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN AMONG SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., S&P 500 INDEX, AND NYSE ARCA AIRLINE INDEX



	12/31/2013		12/31/2014		12/31/2015		12/31/2016		12/31/2017		12/31/2018
Southwest Airlines Co.	$	100	$	226	$	232	$	271	$	359	$	257
S&P 500	$	100	$	114	$	115	$	129	$	157	$	150
NYSE ARCA Airline	$	100	$	150	$	127	$	164	$	174	$	137

Issuer Repurchases



Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities (1)
	(a)	(b)			(c)	(d)
					Total number of	Maximum dollar
					shares purchased	value of shares that
	Total number	Average			as part of publicly	may yet be purchased
	of shares	price paid			announced plans	under the plans
Period	purchased	per share			or programs	or programs
October 1, 2018 through October 31, 2018	1,848,814	$	—	(2)(3)	1,848,814	$	1,350,032,588
November 1, 2018 through November 30, 2018	—	$	—		—	$	1,350,032,588
December 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018	9,835,633	$	—	(3)	9,835,633	$	1,350,032,588
Total	11,684,447				11,684,447


(1)	On May 17, 2017, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $2.0 billion of the Company's common stock. On May 16, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $2.0 billion of the Company’s common stock in a new share repurchase authorization, upon the completion of the May 2017 share repurchase authorization. Repurchases are made in accordance with applicable securities laws in open market or private, including accelerated, repurchase transactions from time to time, depending on market conditions, and may be discontinued at any time.

(1)

On May 17, 2017, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $2.0 billion of the Company's common stock. On May 16, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $2.0 billion of the Company’s common stock in a new share repurchase authorization, upon the completion of the May 2017 share repurchase authorization. Repurchases are made in accordance with applicable securities laws in open market or private, including accelerated, repurchase transactions from time to time, depending on market conditions, and may be discontinued at any time.


(2)	Under an accelerated share repurchase program entered into by the Company with a third party financial institution in third quarter 2018 (the "Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program"), the Company paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of 6,349,325 shares during August 2018, representing an estimated 75 percent of the shares to be purchased by the Company under the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program based on a volume-weighted average price of $59.0614 per share of the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange during a calculation period between August 1, 2018 and August 22, 2018. Final settlement of the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program occurred in October 2018 and was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during a calculation period completed in October 2018. Upon settlement, the third party financial institution delivered 1,848,814 additional shares of the Company’s common stock to the Company. In total, the average purchase price per share for the 8,198,139 shares repurchased under the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program, upon completion of the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program in October 2018, was $60.9895.

(2)

Under an accelerated share repurchase program entered into by the Company with a third party financial institution in third quarter 2018 (the "Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program"), the Company paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of 6,349,325 shares during August 2018, representing an estimated 75 percent of the shares to be purchased by the Company under the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program based on a volume-weighted average price of $59.0614 per share of the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange during a calculation period between August 1, 2018 and August 22, 2018. Final settlement of the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program occurred in October 2018 and was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during a calculation period completed in October 2018. Upon settlement, the third party financial institution delivered 1,848,814 additional shares of the Company’s common stock to the Company. In total, the average purchase price per share for the 8,198,139 shares repurchased under the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program, upon completion of the Third Quarter 2018 ASR Program in October 2018, was $60.9895.


(3)	Under an accelerated share repurchase program entered into by the Company with a third party financial institution in fourth quarter 2018 (the "Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program"), the Company paid $500 million in October 2018 and received an initial delivery of 7,827,176 shares during December 2018, representing an estimated 75 percent of the shares to be purchased by the Company under the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program based on a price of $47.91 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on October 29, 2018. The third party financial institution delivered an additional 1,472,253 shares to the Company in further partial settlements of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program in December 2018, which was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during calculation periods completed in December 2018. Final settlement of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program occurred in December 2018 and was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during a calculation period completed in December 2018. Upon settlement, the third party financial institution delivered 536,204 additional shares of the Company’s common stock to the Company. In total, the average purchase price per share for the 9,835,633 shares repurchased under the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program, upon completion of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program in December 2018, was $50.8356.

(3)

Under an accelerated share repurchase program entered into by the Company with a third party financial institution in fourth quarter 2018 (the "Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program"), the Company paid $500 million in October 2018 and received an initial delivery of 7,827,176 shares during December 2018, representing an estimated 75 percent of the shares to be purchased by the Company under the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program based on a price of $47.91 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on October 29, 2018. The third party financial institution delivered an additional 1,472,253 shares to the Company in further partial settlements of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program in December 2018, which was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during calculation periods completed in December 2018. Final settlement of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program occurred in December 2018 and was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during a calculation period completed in December 2018. Upon settlement, the third party financial institution delivered 536,204 additional shares of the Company’s common stock to the Company. In total, the average purchase price per share for the 9,835,633 shares repurchased under the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program, upon completion of the Fourth Quarter 2018 ASR Program in December 2018, was $50.8356.

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