JBLU stock has been trading at $7.38 as of 03:35 PM EDT.
After the airline company’s Q3 EPS came in slightly short, JetBlue Airway Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) saw a decline in early trade on Tuesday. The first quarterly adjusted profit since the start of the pandemic, according to JBLU, was produced throughout the quarter, marking a key milestone in the company’s ongoing recovery.
During the quarter, unit revenue increased by 29.6% to $0.1580, while average fares increased by 12.4% to $229.95. JetBlue’s load factor significantly increased from 79.9% to 86.1%.
JBLU made debt repayments of $66 million, capital investments totaling $260 million, and payments linked to the Spirit deal totaling $25 million during the third quarter. In accordance with the provisions of the merger agreement, the positive Spirit shareholder vote on October 19 also triggered the prepayment of $272 million in Q4.
JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) stated that it is still committed to keeping a strong liquidity position. Looking ahead, CEO Robin Hayes stated, “We expect our profitability to carry through to another excellent quarter of mid-single-digit pre-tax margins in the fourth quarter, and we’ll want to improve on that further in 2023 as we continue to recover our earning power.”
Although JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) posted its first quarterly profit since the start of the epidemic, the outcomes still fell short of expectations. JetBlue stock fell more than 7% after earnings as a result of the investors’ disappointment.
JBLU stock forecast
There isn’t much cause for fear in JetBlue’s report, but investor expectations are currently quite high in an earnings season where competitors like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings comfortably exceeded forecasts and gave optimistic outlooks for 2023 and beyond.
To get the Spirit acquisition through regulators, JetBlue still has a long way to go. Although the quarter was strong, it didn’t significantly alter JetBlue’s long-term forecast, and investors are yawning on Tuesday. Shares of JetBlue (JBLU) decreased 1.72% in premarket trade to $7.41.
JetBlue’s (NASDAQ:JBLU) Seeking Alpha Quant Rating is currently at Hold, although the company outperforms its rivals Hawaiian Holdings, Spirit Airlines, SkyWest, Mesa Airlines, and Allegiant Travel in terms of quant score.
JBLU Raises Capacity And Revenue Targets
Featured Image – Megapixl © Alexraths
Author Jowi Kwasu 
