Core Viewpoint - Southwest Airlines Co. reported disappointing second-quarter 2025 results, with both earnings and revenues falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate [1] Financial Performance - Quarterly earnings were 43 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents and declining 25.9% year over year [2][9] - Revenues totaled $7.24 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.29 billion and declining 1.5% year over year [2][9] - Passenger revenues, which accounted for 91.5% of total revenues, decreased 1.3% year over year to $6.62 billion [2] Operating Statistics - Airline traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, fell 3.5% year over year to 36.88 billion [3] - Capacity, or available seat miles (ASMs), grew 1.6% year over year to 46.99 billion [3] - Load factor decreased by 4.1 percentage points to 78.5% [3][9] - Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) fell 2.8% year over year to 14.10 cents [3] - Revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 3.1% year over year to 15.41 cents [4] Operating Expenses & Income - Operating income for the quarter was $225 million, down from $398 million in the same quarter last year [5][9] - Adjusted operating income was $245 million compared to $405 million in the prior year [5] - Total adjusted operating expenses increased 6.4% year over year [5] Fuel Costs - Fuel cost per gallon fell 15.9% year over year to $2.32 [6] Liquidity - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter were $3.47 billion, down from $8.13 billion at the end of the previous quarter [7] - Long-term debt remained flat at $4.08 billion [7] Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns - The company generated $401 million in cash from operating activities during the quarter [8] - Capital expenditures were $635 million, primarily for aircraft-related spending [8] - Southwest returned $1.6 billion to shareholders, including $103 million in dividends and $1.5 billion in share repurchases [8][10] Outlook - For third-quarter 2025, unit revenues are expected to range from down 2% to up 2% on flat capacity year over year [11] - Economic fuel costs per gallon are anticipated to be between $2.40 and $2.50 [12] - The company expects to achieve a $370 million cost reduction target this year [13] - Third-quarter CASM, excluding fuel and special items, is projected to increase by 3.5-5.5% year over year [13] - Capital spending for 2025 is expected to be in the range of $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion [14] - The company reaffirms its EBIT contribution targets of $1.8 billion for 2025 and $4.3 billion for 2026 [15]

Key Insights - Mexican carrier Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (Volaris) reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for June 2025 [1] - Volaris experienced a 0.6% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, but the load factor decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 83.9% [2][10] - The airline transported 2.4 million passengers in June, reflecting a modest 0.2% increase year-over-year [2][10] Domestic and International Performance - In the domestic market, RPMs and available seat miles (ASMs) decreased by 2% and 1.2% respectively compared to June 2024, with a domestic load factor of 89.2%, down 0.7 percentage points [3] - Internationally, RPMs decreased by 0.4% year-over-year, while ASMs increased by 3.4%, leading to a decrease in the international load factor by 2.9 percentage points to 76.2% [3] Comparison with Other Airlines - Ryanair reported a 3% year-over-year increase in passengers transported, totaling 19.3 million in June 2025, with a stable load factor of 95% [5] - Copa Holdings (CPA) is also highlighted for its strong performance, with a 7% year-over-year increase in ASMs and a 7.5% increase in RPMs for May 2025 [8]