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Southwest Airlines (LUV) Q1 Earnings in-Line

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Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2018 earnings per share of 75 cents, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Earnings increased on a year-over-year basis.

How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?

Investors should note that the earnings estimate revisions for Southwest Airlines depicted a gloomy picture prior to the earnings release. The stock had seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings being revised 3.8% downward over the last 30 days.

However, the company has an impressive earnings history having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 1.1%.

Revenues Lower Than Expected

Southwest Airlines recorded revenues of $4,944 million, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,017.6 million. However, revenues increased year-over-year.

Southwest Airlines Co. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Southwest Airlines Co. Price and EPS Surprise | Southwest Airlines Co. Quote


Key Stats to Note: The airline witnessed a 1% decrease in consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM: a key measure of unit revenue) in the quarter. For the second quarter of 2018, the carrier expects revenue per available seat mile (RASM) to decline between 1% and 3%. Second-quarter unit costs, excluding fuel and oil expense, profit-sharing expense, and special items is estimated to increase in the band of 1-2%. While economic fuel costs for the second quarter is predicted to be $2.20 per gallon.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Southwest Airlines has a Zacks Rank #4 (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.  

Stock Price: The revenues miss displeased the investors. Consequently shares of the company were down in early trading at the time of writing.

Check back later for our full write up on this Southwest Airlines earnings report later!

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