DAL & UALs Q3 Earnings Reports, CPAs Traffic

Last week United Airlines UAL reported better-than-expected earnings per share and revenue for the third quarter of 2024. The Chicago-based company announced a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan, underscoring its shareholder-friendly approach. Delta Air Lines DAL reported mixed third-quarter results, with earnings falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate but topping sales.

Southwest Airlines’ The dispute between LUV and Elliott Investment Management took another turn when the latter called an emergency meeting in December to finalize Elliott’s nominations to LUV’s board. Copa stocks CPA reported an increase in traffic volume and capacity for the month of September.

Read the latest airline roundup here

Summary of the most important stories of recent times

1. United Airlines reported third-quarter 2024 earnings per share, excluding 43 cents from one-time items, of $3.33, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10. However, revenues fell 8.8% year-over-year. Operating revenue of $14.84 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.76 billion. For the fourth quarter of 2024, UAL expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.50 to $3.00.

UAL currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

2. Delta reported third-quarter 2024 profit, excluding 47 cents from one-time items, of $1.50 per share, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Profit fell 26.11% year-on-year, mainly due to high labor costs. Revenue of $15.68 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% year over year, driven by strong demand for air travel. Delta expects adjusted earnings in the range of $1.60 to $1.85 per share for the fourth quarter of 2024.

3. Due to buoyant demand for air travel, total traffic (as measured by passenger miles taken) at Copa Holdings increased 7.3% year-over-year in September. Capacity (measured by available seat miles) increased by 9.1%, underlining the rosy scenario in terms of operational expansion. CPA’s September load factor (percentage of seats occupied by passengers) was a solid 85.9%, reflecting operational efficiency in managing increased capacity while maintaining passenger utilization.

4. Elliott Investment Management has convened a special meeting of LUV shareholders on December 10, 2024. Elliott intends to replace eight existing directors on LUV’s board with candidates of his choice. LUV believes Elliott’s request for a special meeting is unnecessary and inappropriate.

The story continues

Performance

The table below shows the price movement of major airline players over the past week and over the past six months.

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

The NYSE ARCA Airline Index rose 7.9% to $63.55 as most stocks in the table above traded in the green. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index is up 3.7%.

What’s next in the airline space?

A number of airlines are expected to report their third quarter 2024 results in the coming days. For example, Southwest Airlines is expected to report results on October 24th. LUV’s results are expected to be supported by high passenger traffic and low fuel costs. Further updates on the dispute between LUV and Elliott Investment Management are likely in the coming days.

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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free stock analysis report

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV): Free stock analysis report

Copa Holdings, SA (CPA): Free Stock Analysis Report

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