LUV vs QQQ Stock Comparison

Compare LUV vs QQQ on performance, valuation, growth, fundamentals, momentum and risk; the current AIQ evidence does not show a clear headline leader.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· AIQ score gap 0 points
LUV
Industrials
vs
QQQ
Equity
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
Price
$39.88
Day move
+0.58%
AIQ Score
51/100
Best edge
Value
Sector
Industrials
QQQ
Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
Price
$725
Day move
+1.05%
AIQ Score
51/100
Best edge
Quality
Sector
Equity

What is the main difference between LUV and QQQ?

LUV and QQQ are close on the current AIQ evidence, so the better fit depends more on objective, risk tolerance and valuation preference than on a single headline score.

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

Southwest Airlines Co. vs Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· LUV (stock) vs QQQ (ETF)· Coverage 65/66 fields· 42/42 directly comparable· Moderate confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 1/10

LUV and QQQ are effectively level

LUV and QQQ are effectively level on the AIQ Score; the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Evidence agreement: 0 of 4Comparison trend: Weakening
LUV

Southwest Airlines Co.

AIQ Score
51/100
AIQ Edge Score
5/10
QQQ

Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1

AIQ Score
51/100
AIQ Edge Score
4/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score does not currently separate LUV and QQQ as of Oct 21, 2026. Both names are scored on the same 0–100 scale across Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience, and the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Compare Southwest Airlines Co. and Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes.

LUV
-9.0%
QQQ
+95.6%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

LUV $9,096 · QQQ $19,562

Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.

Compare LUV and QQQ against another ticker

Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.

Basic: 2 symbols·Explorer: 3 symbols·Pro and Premium: 5 symbols·Your limit: 2

AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

LUV advantage
0
QQQ advantage
  • Quality54 vs 82
    QQQ +28
  • Value62 vs 35
    LUV +27
  • Risk Resilience50 vs 72
    QQQ +22
  • Momentum33 vs 21
    LUV +12

Neither name separates cleanly on the covered dimensions.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.

LUV+2 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +6

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.

QQQ-1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -2

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.

QQQ's lead narrowed by 3 AIQ points in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — LUV and QQQ both carry a full feed there.

Which one fits your objective

The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.

Balanced

Even

Neither separates on the overall score.

Growth

Even

Growth figures are not covered for both names.

Value

LUV

LUV on the peer-relative Value factor, by 27 points.

Momentum

LUV

LUV on the Momentum factor, by 12 points.

Lower downside

QQQ

QQQ on Risk Resilience, by 22 points.

Analyst upside

Even

Analyst targets are level or not covered for both names.

AIQ vs Wall Street

Where the systematic read and the analyst consensus line up — and where they do not.

MeasureLUVQQQNote
Implied upside to target+30.6%—Level
Target dispersion+55.5%—Lower is tighter analyst agreement
ConsensusHold—Context, not a primary driver
Analysts covering10—Higher coverage generally improves confidence

Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

How each independent group of evidence reads the pair.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreEven51 vs 51
FundamentalsNot coveredNot covered
ValuationLUVValue 62 vs 35
TechnicalsQQQPrice vs 50-day -2.5% vs -0.2%; vs 200-day -8.8% vs 6.2%
Risk ResilienceQQQRisk Resilience 50 vs 72
Analyst expectationsNot coveredNot covered

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is narrow at 0 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • Only 0 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

How the comparison changed

120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20

QQQ lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 7 to 0 points over 30 sessions.

Jun 21LUV leads above the line · QQQ leads belowOct 20
Today
Level
51 vs 51
7 sessions ago
QQQ +6
51 vs 57
30 sessions ago
QQQ +7
58 vs 65
90 sessions ago
QQQ +17
50 vs 67

The lead changed hands 6 times in this window, most recently on Aug 4 when QQQ moved ahead of LUV.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

LUV

0 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral

Only LUV

  • Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
  • Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (6.33%)
  • Downtrend Structure Active — bearish, trend, long horizon
QQQConflicted

1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted

Only QQQ

  • Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (7.50%)
  • Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon

Both carry 1 more signal that do not separate them: MACD Bearish Crossover.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

LUVConfirmed strength

Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.58%, AIQ +2 points).

QQQDivergence

Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +1.05%, AIQ -1 points).

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Fundamentals

Split
MetricLUVQQQ
Revenue growth (YoY)16.3%—
EPS growth (YoY)6.7%—
Gross margin61%—
Operating margin3.5%—
Return on equity (TTM)11.3%—
Debt to equity0.97—

Performance

QQQ leads 5 of 6 windows
MetricLUVQQQ
1 week (5 sessions)-2.5%-3.5%
1 month (20 sessions)-5.8%-4%
3 months (63 sessions)-16.8%1.7%
6 months (126 sessions)-3.1%11.4%
Year to date-4.1%16.8%
1 year (252 sessions)19.1%19.6%

Technicals

QQQ has the stronger structure
MetricLUVQQQ
RSI (14)40.237.2
ADX (14)13.520.3
Price vs 50-day-2.5%-0.2%
Price vs 200-day-8.8%6.2%
Volatility (1M, annualized)31.5%15.4%

Risk

QQQ is the more resilient
MetricLUVQQQ
Beta1.621.45
Sharpe ratio0.510.77
Sortino ratio0.941.2
Max drawdown-33.8%-12.2%
Current drawdown-27.6%-5.5%
Annualized volatility44.4%19.9%
Value at risk (95%)-3.8%-1.9%

Straight answers

Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.

Which has more analyst upside, LUV or QQQ?

Analyst price targets imply +30.6% upside for LUV and not covered for QQQ. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Which is better value, LUV or QQQ?

LUV is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. LUV on the peer-relative Value factor, by 27 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.

Which has stronger growth, LUV or QQQ?

Growth figures are not covered for both names. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.

Which has stronger momentum, LUV or QQQ?

LUV on the Momentum factor, by 12 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.

Which is riskier, LUV or QQQ?

QQQ is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. QQQ on Risk Resilience, by 22 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.

Is LUV more profitable than QQQ?

Margin data is not comparable for both names in the current snapshot.

What do the current signals say about LUV and QQQ?

LUV: 0 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral. QQQ: 1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on LUV is Death Cross Active (bearish, long horizon). On QQQ it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.