Alaska Air Group (ALK) Beats on Q3 Earnings
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK reported third-quarter 2018 earnings per share of $1.91 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11 cents. Earnings however declined from the year-ago figure.
How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?
Investors should note that the earnings estimate revisions for Alaska Air Group depicted a bright picture prior to the earnings release. The stock had seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings being revised 16.9% downward over the last 60 days.
Moreover, the company has a decent earnings history having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters with an average beat of 7.2%.
Revenues Higher Than Expected
Alaska Air Group recorded revenues of $2,212 million, which came above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,203.9 million.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Alaska Air Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Alaska Air Group, Inc. Quote
Key Stats to Note: The airline witnessed a 0.1% decrease in consolidated revenue per available seat mile (RASM: a key measure of unit revenue) in the quarter. Passenger revenues climbed 4% to $2,043 million in the quarter. Cost per available seat mile (CASM), excluding fuel rose 1.9% in the quarter, while economic fuel cost per gallon surged 29.4% to $2.23. The company repurchased 582,942 shares for approximately $37 million in the first nine months of 2018.
For the fourth quarter of 2018, the carrier expects cost per available seat mile (CASM), excluding fuel and special items to rise approximately 3.6% year over year. While the same for 2018 is predicted to rise around 3.2%. Economic fuel cost per gallon is anticipated to increase 18.5% to $2.37 in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Zacks Rank: Currently, Alaska Air Group has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but that could change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Check back later for our full write up on this Alaska Air Group earnings report later!
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