Elliott began building up its Southwest stake in mid-2024 and pushing for changes, blaming management for a stagnant stock price.
DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal.
Elliott Investment Management LP, the activist investor that helped push Southwest Airlines Co. to enact major changes, has lowered its stake in the Dallas-based airline.
Florida-based Elliott sold more than 4 million shares in a series of transactions from Dec. 18, 2025, to Jan 22., according to a Feb. 2 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That lowered its stake in Southwest (NYSE: LUV) to 9%, although Elliott noted its “combined economic exposure” was 10.7%, including options and swaps. The firm’s holdings in Southwest had an aggregate value of about $1.3 billion at the time of the filing. At its peak, Elliott had a roughly 16% stake in the carrier.
In the filing, Elliott said it made the transactions “for portfolio management purposes.” The firm noted it intends to remain a “significant” shareholder and expressed confidence that Southwest’s “execution of ongoing strategic initiatives will translate to greater profitability, accretive capital-allocation opportunities and shareholder value creation.”
Elliott began building up its Southwest stake in mid-2024 and pushing for changes, blaming management for a stagnant stock price. The two sides reached a deal that October to avert a proxy fight and reshaped the airline’s board. Since then, Southwest has embarked on a major transformation, ending its widespread “bags fly free” policy and introducing other changes like premium seating. It also just made the switch last month from open seating to assigned seats, transforming a boarding process that for decades set Southwest apart from other airlines.
