Alaska Air(US:ALK) ZACKS·2025-10-31 20:20Core Insights - Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) reported Q3 2025 earnings of $1.05 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 per share and reflecting a 53.3% decline year over year [1][10] - Operating revenues reached $3.76 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.75 billion, and increased by 23% year over year, with passenger revenues contributing 90.9% of the total and rising by 21% due to stable air-travel demand [1][10] Financial Performance - Passenger revenues totaled $3.42 billion, while cargo and other revenues surged 78% to $142 million, and loyalty program revenues grew 17% year over year to $200 million [2] - Revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased by 0.5% to 15.41 cents, and yield fell by 0.7% to 16.51 cents [3] - Consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, increased by 22.2% to 20.73 billion, while capacity rose by 23.2% to 24.44 billion, leading to a load factor decline to 84.8% from 85.5% [4] Operating Expenses - Total operating expenses grew by 32% to $3.62 billion, while the economic fuel price per gallon decreased by 3.8% to $2.51 [5] - Consolidated operating costs per available seat mile, excluding fuel and special items, increased by 10.5% [5] Liquidity and Share Repurchase - As of September 30, 2025, Alaska Air had $778 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $750 million in the previous quarter, and long-term debt increased slightly to $4.49 billion [6] - During the first nine months of 2025, ALK repurchased 10.6 million shares for $540 million [6] Future Outlook - For Q4 2025, adjusted earnings per share are anticipated to be $0.40, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.56 [7] - Fourth-quarter unit revenues are expected to rise by low single digits year over year, with unit costs also projected to increase by low single digits [8] - For the full year 2025, adjusted earnings per share are expected to be at least $2.40, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate at $2.56 [9][11]