Southwest Airlines shares dropped -5.6% on the 11th after the airline announced openness to meeting with Activist Investor Elliott Management, which holds a $1.9 billion stake and has advocated for a leadership change.

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Southwest carries the most passengers within the United States, but Delta, United and American — all of which have more extensive international routes — are much larger by revenue. Southwest earned a profit for 47 straight years — an unmatched record in the airline business — until the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020.

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Southwest reported record revenue of $26.1 billion last year, but its $465 million profit was down from the previous two years and about one-tenth of Delta’s profit.

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Delta and United have emerged from the pandemic as by far the most profitable U.S. airlines, and that shows up in their relative stock performance. At the close of trading Friday, Southwest shares were down 52% from three years earlier – about the same as American.

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