JetBlue (JBLU) Beats on Q3 Earnings
JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU is a low-cost carrier which is based in Long Island City, NY. The carrier, founded in 1998, operates multiple flights and carries more than 30 million customers annually to various destinations in the United States, Caribbean, and Latin America.
The company has a decent track record with respect to earnings, having outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. The average earnings beat is 4.3%.
Zacks Rank: Currently, JetBlue has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) 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.
We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings: JetBlue’s earnings of 55 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents. Earnings declined 5.2% from the year ago figure due to higher costs. Fuel price per gallon increased 14.6% to $1.69 per gallon. The recent hurricanes also hurt results.
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | JetBlue Airways Corporation Quote
Revenue: Operating revenues came in at $1,813 million, just ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,809.3 million. Revenues increased 4.7% from the year-ago figure. Passenger revenues, which accounted for bulk of the top line (89.5%), improved 3.3% in the third quarter of 2017. Other revenues increased 18.2%.
Key Stats to Note: For the fourth quarter of 2017, the carrier expects capacity to increase between 4.5% and 5.5%. For the full-year 2017 the metric is expected to increase in the range of 4% to 5%. Consolidated operating cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, is expected to grow in the band of 5% to 7% in the final quarter of 2017. For the full-year 2017 the metric is still expected to grow in the range of 4% to 5%. Operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is projected to grow in the range between -3% and 0% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter. Fuel price, inclusive of hedges and fuel taxes, is projected at $1.83 per gallon in the fourth quarter.
Stock Price: The year-over-year decline in earnings per share displeased the investors. Consequently, shares of the company were down in pre-market trading at the time of writing.
Check back later for our full write up on this JetBlue Airways earnings report later!
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