The Zacks Analyst Blog: American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Citigroup, and Ryanair Holdings
Chicago, IL – December 9, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks and ETFs featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day, the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include American Airlines (AAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Citigroup (C), and Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY).
In the past week, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue Airways provided improved projections for the fourth quarter of 2024. Buoyant air travel demand and improved pricing have led to healthy guidance. Additionally, lower capacity has been boosting profitability across these airlines.
American Airlines has also made headlines due to its credit card deal with Citigroup. Meanwhile, European carrier Ryanair Holdings reported strong traffic numbers for November, reinforcing the positive air travel demand scenario.
American Airlines Updates Guidance
American Airlines has lifted its fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share guidance. The upward revision comes as a result of a favorable pricing and revenue environment. The airline now expects fourth-quarter total revenues per available seat mile to be flat or up 1% compared to the same period in 2023, a significant improvement from its earlier guidance, which anticipated a decline in the range of 1-3%.
The company currently expects its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share to fall between approximately 55 cents and 75 cents, up from the previous guidance range of 25-50 cents. Furthermore, management anticipates non-fuel unit costs to increase in the 5-6% band year over year, which is slightly higher than the earlier projection of a 4-6% rise.
In a notable development, American Airlines and Citigroup have signed a 10-year agreement extending their partnership, making Citi the exclusive issuer of the AAdvantage co-branded credit card, effective 2026.
AAL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
JetBlue Airways Adjusts Revenue Forecast
JetBlue has revised its expectations for fourth-quarter revenues, now anticipating a decline in the range of 2-5% year-over-year, compared to its previous guidance of a 3%-7% decline. For 2024, total revenues are projected to decline by approximately 3.5-4.5%, an improvement from the prior forecast of down 4-5%.
This positive outlook is largely attributed to better-than-expected bookings for November and December following the U.S. presidential election. Improved close-in demand and solid operational performance during the Thanksgiving week contributed to better revenues during the peak holiday period in November. Additionally, JetBlue has seen December bookings exceed prior expectations during both peak and off-peak travel times.
For its fourth-quarter 2024, JetBlue anticipates that capacity, measured in available seat miles, will decline in the range of 4.5-6.5%, a more favorable forecast than the previous projection of a 4-7% decline.
