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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Delta Air, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest and JetBlue
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 31, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) , American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) , United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) , Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Is All Well in the U.S. Airline Industry?
It is a well-known fact that airline stocks did not fly high in 2019 and the beginning of 2020 due to headwinds like lackluster cargo business and revenue loss following flight cancellations because of the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX jets. Even as the downsides persist, the coronavirus pandemic crippled airlines all the more with air-travel demand shrinking.
The extremely sorry state of affairs is reflected in the share price depreciation of leading U.S. carriers, namely Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways, which have declined 50%, 51.7%, 63.4%, 33.7%, 56.2% and 48.4%, respectively, since the beginning of February.
Airlines Resort to Various Measures to Tackle Crisis
With airlines witnessing more cancellations than bookings, the companies are seeing a massive drop in passenger revenues, which account for bulk of their top lines. In fact, many people are unwilling to fly in a bid to stay safe and avoid contracting the COVID-19 from a fellow passenger.
In an effort to combat the coronavirus-induced sharp plunge in demand, airlines are trimming capacity. Evidently, Alaska Air Group’s subsidiary Alaska Airlines aims to reduce 70% of its capacity for April and May. Moreover, United Airlines plans to slash its total scheduled capacity for April by 68% including 90% international capacity reduction. Moreover, the carriers announced a slew of cost-cutting measures. For instance, Delta plans to curb capital expenditures by a minimum $2 billion this year. It is also offering voluntary short-term unpaid leaves, apart from freezing recruitment.
The above measures were clearly not enough as is evident from the fact that airlines sought financial aid from the U.S. government to tide over the ongoing crisis. Consequently, airlines were criticized by some market watchers for their large-scale buybacks, dividend payments and consequently, less cash savings.
Government Stimulus Package: A Reality
After several deliberations, the Senate passed an emergency relief package on Mar 25. The House of Representatives passed the stimulus package on Mar 27 with President Donald Trump legalizing it the same day.
Of the total fund worth $2 trillion, U.S. airlines are eligible to receive roughly $60 billion in loans as well as grants. Per the package, U.S. passenger airlines are eligible to get $25 billion in grants for covering their payroll expenses over the next six months. Moreover, a similar sum is doled out in the form of unsecured loans/loan guarantees.
Will Package Provide Only Near-Term Relief?
Despite the hefty amount, this rescue relief is anticipated to provide only short-term breather to the battered airline stocks. For instance, management at airline heavyweights, Delta and United Airlines, stated that the monetary assistance took care of sustaining jobs only through Sep 30, 2020. Moreover, significantly dwindled air-travel demand will take a long time to rebound even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. For instance, United Airlines’ CEO Oscar Munoz and president Scott Kirby expect "demand to remain suppressed for months after that, possibly into next year."
In the event of slow recovery in air-travel demand, management at United Airlines stated that it may condense workforce in the long run. We fear that other airlines may follow suit, in the event of demand remaining stifled for a long time. In fact, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) JetBlue’s CEO Robin Hayes warned that "the writing is on the wall" that travel demand will not be restored anytime soon.
Moreover, as a condition for receiving the above-mentioned financial help, airlines had to suspend share buybacks and dividends.
Notably, suspension of the above shareholder-friendly measures does not augur well for investors as the lure of steady dividends often leads them to put their hard earned money into the stock market. Thus, this could be another major blow to the already-struggling airline stocks.
Come what may, we expect investor focus to remain on this burning issue. To this end, we advise investors to watch this space for further updates.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early. See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Delta Air, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest and JetBlue
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 31, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) , American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) , United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) , Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Is All Well in the U.S. Airline Industry?
It is a well-known fact that airline stocks did not fly high in 2019 and the beginning of 2020 due to headwinds like lackluster cargo business and revenue loss following flight cancellations because of the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX jets. Even as the downsides persist, the coronavirus pandemic crippled airlines all the more with air-travel demand shrinking.
The extremely sorry state of affairs is reflected in the share price depreciation of leading U.S. carriers, namely Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways, which have declined 50%, 51.7%, 63.4%, 33.7%, 56.2% and 48.4%, respectively, since the beginning of February.
Airlines Resort to Various Measures to Tackle Crisis
With airlines witnessing more cancellations than bookings, the companies are seeing a massive drop in passenger revenues, which account for bulk of their top lines. In fact, many people are unwilling to fly in a bid to stay safe and avoid contracting the COVID-19 from a fellow passenger.
In an effort to combat the coronavirus-induced sharp plunge in demand, airlines are trimming capacity. Evidently, Alaska Air Group’s subsidiary Alaska Airlines aims to reduce 70% of its capacity for April and May. Moreover, United Airlines plans to slash its total scheduled capacity for April by 68% including 90% international capacity reduction. Moreover, the carriers announced a slew of cost-cutting measures. For instance, Delta plans to curb capital expenditures by a minimum $2 billion this year. It is also offering voluntary short-term unpaid leaves, apart from freezing recruitment.
The above measures were clearly not enough as is evident from the fact that airlines sought financial aid from the U.S. government to tide over the ongoing crisis. Consequently, airlines were criticized by some market watchers for their large-scale buybacks, dividend payments and consequently, less cash savings.
Government Stimulus Package: A Reality
After several deliberations, the Senate passed an emergency relief package on Mar 25. The House of Representatives passed the stimulus package on Mar 27 with President Donald Trump legalizing it the same day.
Of the total fund worth $2 trillion, U.S. airlines are eligible to receive roughly $60 billion in loans as well as grants. Per the package, U.S. passenger airlines are eligible to get $25 billion in grants for covering their payroll expenses over the next six months. Moreover, a similar sum is doled out in the form of unsecured loans/loan guarantees.
Will Package Provide Only Near-Term Relief?
Despite the hefty amount, this rescue relief is anticipated to provide only short-term breather to the battered airline stocks. For instance, management at airline heavyweights, Delta and United Airlines, stated that the monetary assistance took care of sustaining jobs only through Sep 30, 2020. Moreover, significantly dwindled air-travel demand will take a long time to rebound even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. For instance, United Airlines’ CEO Oscar Munoz and president Scott Kirby expect "demand to remain suppressed for months after that, possibly into next year."
In the event of slow recovery in air-travel demand, management at United Airlines stated that it may condense workforce in the long run. We fear that other airlines may follow suit, in the event of demand remaining stifled for a long time. In fact, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) JetBlue’s CEO Robin Hayes warned that "the writing is on the wall" that travel demand will not be restored anytime soon.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Moreover, as a condition for receiving the above-mentioned financial help, airlines had to suspend share buybacks and dividends.
Notably, suspension of the above shareholder-friendly measures does not augur well for investors as the lure of steady dividends often leads them to put their hard earned money into the stock market. Thus, this could be another major blow to the already-struggling airline stocks.
Come what may, we expect investor focus to remain on this burning issue. To this end, we advise investors to watch this space for further updates.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.