Core Viewpoint - Alaska Air Group (ALK) reported a mixed performance in its Q2 2025 earnings, with earnings per share beating estimates but showing a significant year-over-year decline. The company is facing challenges in maintaining profitability amid rising operating costs and a slight decrease in load factor [2][5][12]. Financial Performance - Q2 2025 earnings per share were $1.78, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56 but down 30.2% year-over-year [2]. - Operating revenues reached $3.70 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.65 billion, and increased by 27.8% year-over-year, with passenger revenues contributing 90.5% of the total and rising by 27% [2][3]. - Total operating expenses grew by 33% to $3.42 billion, while economic fuel prices decreased by 15.8% to $2.39 per gallon [6]. Revenue Breakdown - Passenger revenues totaled $3.35 billion, while cargo and other revenues increased by 93% to $139 million. Loyalty program revenues grew by 21% year-over-year to $210 million [3]. - Revenue per available seat mile (RASM) fell by 3.3% to 15.39 cents, and yield decreased by 4% to 16.62 cents [4]. Capacity and Traffic - Consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, grew by 31.8% to 20.17 billion, while capacity, measured in average seat miles, rose by 32.2% to 24.05 billion [5]. - The load factor decreased to 83.9% from 84.1% in the prior year, indicating that traffic growth did not keep pace with capacity expansion [5]. Liquidity and Debt - As of June 30, 2025, Alaska Air had $750 million in cash and cash equivalents, down from $1.04 billion in the previous quarter. Long-term debt increased to $4.44 billion from $4.29 billion [7]. - The debt-to-capitalization ratio stood at 60% at the end of the reported quarter [7]. Future Outlook - For Q3 2025, Alaska Air anticipates adjusted earnings per share in the range of $1.00-$1.40, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate at $1.55 per share. Available seat miles are expected to decrease by 1% year-over-year [8]. - The company projects adjusted earnings per share for 2025 to exceed $3.25, with available seat miles expected to increase by 2% from 2024 [9]. Estimate Revisions - There has been a downward trend in estimates, with the consensus estimate shifting down by 13.91% over the past month [10]. - Alaska Air currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating an expectation of in-line returns in the coming months [12]. Industry Comparison - Alaska Air is part of the Zacks Transportation - Airline industry, where Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported a slight revenue decline of 0.1% year-over-year, with an EPS of $2.10 compared to $2.36 a year ago [13].

Core Viewpoint - Southwest Airlines reported disappointing second-quarter 2025 results, with both earnings and revenues falling short of expectations, leading to a decline in share price and underperformance compared to the S&P 500 [2][3]. Financial Performance - Quarterly earnings were 43 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents and representing a 25.9% decline year over year [3]. - Revenues totaled $7.24 billion, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.29 billion, and decreased by 1.5% year over year [3]. - Passenger revenues, which made up 91.5% of total revenues, fell 1.3% year over year to $6.62 billion [3]. Operating Statistics - Revenue passenger miles decreased by 3.5% year over year to 36.88 billion [4]. - Available seat miles (ASMs) increased by 1.6% year over year to 46.99 billion, resulting in a load factor drop of 4.1 percentage points to 78.5% [4]. - Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) fell by 2.8% year over year to 14.10 cents [4]. - Revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased by 3.1% to 15.41 cents [5]. Operating Expenses & Income - Operating income for the quarter was $225 million, down from $398 million in the same quarter last year [6]. - Adjusted operating income was $245 million, compared to $405 million in the prior year [6]. - Total adjusted operating expenses increased by 6.4% [6]. Fuel Costs - Fuel cost per gallon fell by 15.9% to $2.32 [7]. 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 [8]. - Long-term debt remained flat at $4.08 billion [8]. - The company generated $401 million in cash from operating activities during the quarter [8]. Shareholder Returns - Southwest returned $1.6 billion to shareholders, including $103 million in dividends and $1.5 billion in share repurchases [9][10]. - The company completed a $2.5 billion share repurchase authorization and has a new $2.0 billion authorization expected to be completed over two years [10]. Outlook - For the third quarter of 2025, unit revenues are expected to range from down 2% to up 2% year over year, with flat capacity [11]. - Economic fuel costs are projected to be between $2.40 and $2.50 per gallon [12]. - The company anticipates a 3.5% to 5.5% increase in CASM-X year over year due to inflationary pressures [13]. - Capital spending for 2025 is expected to be between $2.5 billion and $3.0 billion [14]. - Full-year EBIT guidance for 2025 is reaffirmed at an incremental contribution target of $1.8 billion [15]. Market Position - The consensus estimate for Southwest has shifted downward by 106.21% recently, indicating a negative trend in investor sentiment [16]. - The stock has an average Growth Score of C, a Momentum Score of F, and a Value Score of A, placing it in the top 20% for value investors [17]. - The overall Zacks Rank for Southwest is 3 (Hold), suggesting an expectation of in-line returns in the coming months [18].

Moody’s Ratings downgraded the creditworthiness of Spirit Airlines after the beleaguered airline drew down $275 million of its revolving credit facility. https://t.co/ELWk70cRbp ...

If you want full access to all our reports, data and investing ideas, join The Aerospace Forum , the #1 aerospace, defense and airline investment research service on Seeking Alpha, with access to evoX Data Analytics, our in- house developed data analytics platform. Analyst's Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. ...

Air Canada and its unionized flight attendants reached a tentative contract deal early Tuesday, which could end a strike that forced the airline to suspend flights impacting half a million passengers. https://t.co/oEqUInx6RS (Photo: Gary Hershorn via Getty Images) https://t.co/e8cg5RGeou ...

Air Canada’s contract offer to its 10,500 flight attendants includes payment for work done before the plane is in motion, a response to a major complaint by employees of the country’s biggest airline https://t.co/0CKZRjNtGA ...

Air Canada strike ends after airline and flight attendants reach tentative agreement https://t.co/WSbY9skM3n ...

Air Canada strike ends after airline and flight attendants reach tentative agreement https://t.co/tgm6BvMHSj ...

Air Canada flight attendants end a strike after reaching a tentative agreement with the airline https://t.co/7DVp0RUdoX ...

WITHDRAWING ITS FULL-YEAR GUIDANCE. HERE WITH MORE IS THE CEO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS BOARD DECLARED THE STRIKE ILLEGAL AND ORDERED FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TO RETURN TO WORK BY 12:00 P. M. TODAY.THE DEADLINE CAME AND WENT. ARE THERE WAYS THAT CANADA CAN ACT TO ENFORCE THE LABOR RULING. CAN YOU MAKE YOUR OWN PETITION TO THE COURT FOR SOME KIND OF INJUNCTION OR ACTION AGAINST STRIKING WORKERS.GOOD AFTERNOON, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME. THAT IS ONE OPTION. WE COULD GO TO THE COURTS AND SEE ...