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Airline Stock Roundup: RYAAY's Q4 Loss, AAL's Labor Deal & More

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In the past week, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY - Free Report) reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Revenues also beat the consensus mark and increased year over year, owing to upbeat traffic volumes.

American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) was also in the news, courtesy of its agreement in principle with its pilot union, Allied Pilots Association. Meanwhile, AAL’s Northeast Alliance with JetBlue Airways (JBLU - Free Report) ran into rough weather following a court ruling to end the partnership. Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) also grabbed headlines courtesy of its decision to appoint a new chief operating officer.

Recap of the Past Week’s Most Important Stories

1. Ryanair reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 (ended Mar 31, 2023) loss of 73 cents per share (excluding a penny from non-recurring items), narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 99 cents. In the year-ago reported quarter, RYAAY had incurred a loss of 98 cents per share. Revenues of $1,981.5 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,908.7 million. Revenues improved year over year, driven by upbeat passenger volumes.

On the back of the buoyant traffic scenario, RYAAY’s profit after tax was €1.42 billion in fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 against a net loss of €355 million incurred a year ago. Ryanair expects traffic for fiscal 2024 to be 185 million.

Currently, Ryanair carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

2. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 plus pilots at AAL, reached an agreement in principle with the company. If the collective bargaining agreement materializes, American Airlines pilots would be eligible for a 21% pay raise this year. Further details will be available shortly.

3. American Airlines and JetBlue received a major setback when a federal judge ordered the companies to terminate their alliance in the Northeast as it was anti-competitive. The verdict is in line with the Justice Department’s opinion. The Justice Department’s antitrust suit, filed more than a year ago, accused the alliance of stifling competition. The judge ordered the companies to end the alliance within 30 days of the ruling. Both carriers are likely to challenge the decision. In fact, AAL’s management said that the ruling will not impact its earnings performance.

4. Delta announced that it will get a new chief operating officer from Jun 12. This Atlanta-based carrier appointed Mike Spanos for the new role. Spanos has more than two decades of work experience and has been associated with many big companies. Most recently, he was with Six Flags Entertainment (SIX - Free Report) as its president and CEO.

Performance

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

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The table above shows that stocks exhibited a mixed trend with respect to price over the past week. However, the gains were muted in nature. As a result, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index gained marginally over the past week. Over the course of past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has appreciated 3.9%.

What’s Next in the Airline Space?

Investors will be looking forward to further updates on the alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue.

 

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