Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) plummeted by 4.7% to reach a more-than nine-year low, following the release of the company’s third-quarter financial results. While the air carrier’s profit for the quarter met expectations, its revenue and load factor fell short. Additionally, Southwest Airlines noted that leisure travel trends for the fourth quarter are gradually returning to historically seasonal norms.
Financial Performance
For the third quarter, net income decreased to $193 million, or 31 cents per share, compared to $277 million, or 44 cents per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share, excluding nonrecurring items, remained in line with the FactSet consensus at 38 cents.
The company reported a revenue increase of 4.9% to reach $6.53 billion. However, this figure fell short of the FactSet consensus of $6.57 billion. Moreover, Southwest Airlines experienced a decline in its load factor, which dropped from 85.4% to 80.7%, significantly below the FactSet consensus of 83.0%. Although traffic rose by 6.2% to 35.62 billion revenue passenger miles, capacity saw a substantial increase of 12.5% to 44.17 billion available seat miles.
Fourth Quarter Outlook
Southwest Airlines anticipates a decline in revenue per available seat mile (RASM) in the fourth quarter, projecting a fall of 9% to 11%. This projection reflects the challenges faced by the airline industry due to prevailing travel trends.
Share Performance
Over the past three months leading up to Wednesday’s close, Southwest Airlines’ stock has experienced a significant drop of 34.9%, reaching its lowest point since March 2014. Likewise, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEArca: JETS) and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) have also recorded declines of 30.2% and 8.3%, respectively.
Despite its current challenges, Southwest Airlines continues to navigate through turbulent times as it adjusts to the changing travel landscape.