The topline numbers are expected to benefit from strong
demand during the quarter. Last quarter, passenger revenue grew 8%. The
momentum in traffic and capacity is also likely to push growth during the
period. The company reported capacity increases in all three months of the
quarter while traffic saw a slight decline in November.
December saw the strongest numbers with a 9.4% growth in
traffic and a 4.7% rise in capacity. The results are also likely to benefit
from lower fuel costs. Last quarter, economic fuel cost per gallon fell 8.6%. However,
higher non-fuel unit costs might dampen the quarterly results.
In the third
quarter of 2019, Alaska Air beat revenue and earnings expectations. Revenue
increased 8% to $2.34 billion while adjusted EPS jumped 38% to $2.63. RASM was
up 4.5% while CASM, ex fuel rose 3.4%.
Shares of Alaska Air have gained 2% in the past one year.
The majority of analysts have rated the stock as Buy and it has an average
price target of $76.44.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), JetBlue Airways (NYSE: JBLU) and American Airlines (NYSE: AAL) all reported their fourth quarter earnings this week. While JetBlue and American beat earnings estimates, Southwest missed profit expectations.