Southwest Airlines LUV
The three reasons
- 1
Share price down >50% over 3 years; 2024 EBITDAR tracking ~50% below 2018 despite record industry revenues
- 2
Insider leadership (CEO/Exec Chairman combined 74 years at SWA) has refused to modernize strategy and tech
- 3
Board failed to hold management accountable after Dec 2022 meltdown — nearly doubled exec comp instead
Primary demands
- Enhance the Board of Directors with new, truly independent directors with airline, customer experience and technology expertise
- Upgrade leadership by bringing in new executives from outside Southwest
- Undertake a comprehensive business review via a new management and Board-level committee to modernize strategy, cost execution and IT systems
KPIs cited
Pattern membership
Where this document fits across the library's 12 rhetorical / structural patterns.
Notable slides (3)
Notes
Three-page cover letter accompanying the 'Stronger Southwest' presentation; this document is the letter only, not the appended deck. CEO quote contradictions: Jordan calling quarters 'great'/'strong' while guidance is cut, and management claiming 'absolutely committed' to cost control while raising cost guidance. Signed by John Pike (Partner) and Bobby Xu (Portfolio Manager). 77% upside target is stated without a valuation bridge in this letter — likely detailed in the accompanying presentation.