For Immediate Releases

Chicago, IL – September 19, 2024 – 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: Alaska Air Group AL, Delta Air Lines DAL, CrowdStrike CRWD and American Airlines AAL.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Airline Stock Roundup: ALK Bullish on Q3, AAL Labor Update

In the past week, Alaska Air Group gave a bullish outlook for the third quarter of 2024, mainly driven by the strong air-travel demand during summer. Delta Air Lines expects the CrowdStrike -induced global IT outage on July 19 to hurt its third-quarter 2024 earnings by 45 cents per share.

American Airlines received encouraging tidings on the labor front when the Association of Professional Flight Attendants announced that flight attendants of the airline have ratified a new five-year contract. Alaska Air’s $1.9 billion takeover of Hawaiian Holdings cleared the review of the Department of Transportation or DOT.

Recap of the Recent Most Important Stories

1. Driven by higher revenues during the summer and lower fuel costs, Alaska Air raised its third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share guidance to the range of $2.15-$2.25 compared with the previous guidance of $1.40 to $1.60.

ALK now expects its third-quarter 2024 revenue per available seat mile (a key measure of unit revenues) to be up 2% on a year-over-year basis compared with the previous forecast of flat to positive. ALK now anticipates third-quarter 2024 economic fuel cost per gallon in the range of $2.60-$2.70 (prior view: $2.85-$2.95).

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

2. The global technology outage on July 19, caused by security software provider CrowdStrike’s software update, hit Delta Air Lines the hardest among the U.S. airlines. Following the faulty software update, DAL’s operations were crippled more than others due to its dependence on Microsoft systems for flight crew scheduling. As a result, approximately 7,000 DAL flights were canceled due to the outage, causing not only revenue loss but harassment to passengers.

Following the outage, DAL is now forecasting revenues to be flat or up no more than 1% for the quarter rather than up 2-4% as originally predicted. Capacity is now expected to increase approximately 4% (earlier guidance was for an increase in the 5-6% range). Non-fuel unit costs are now projected to increase 5.5% year over year (earlier guidance was for an increase in the 1-2% range). Full-year 2024 earnings per share are expected to be at or above the midpoint of the $6-$7 guided range (excluding the 45-cent impact from the IT outage on third-quarter earnings).

3. The ratification of the contract at AAL with flight attendants increased the value of the current agreement by $4.2 billion. With 95% of eligible flight attendants casting their votes, 87% of American Airlines flight attendants voted in favor of the contract, which takes effect from Oct. 1, 2024. American Airlines flight attendants become eligible for wage increases of up to 20.5% and substantial retroactive pay to compensate for the time spent negotiating.

AAL was also in the news recently due to its impending exit from the S&P 500 index. That news was covered in detail in the previous week’s write-up.

4. Alaska Air closed the deal of taking over Hawaiian Airlines after receiving clearance from the DOT. Receipt of clearance removes the final hurdle before the closure of the deal. DOT, however, stated that the airlines must maintain the value of their airline reward systems and preserve several key routes. Following the closure of the deal, Hawaiian Airlines serves as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ALK. Alaska Airhas formed an interim leadership team in Honolulu to oversee Hawaiian Airlines' operations until the two airlines are fully integrated.

What’s Next in the Airline Space?

Following the closure of Alaska Air’s merger deal with Hawaiian Airlines, investors are waiting for details regarding the integration process. With buoyant air-travel demand, updates on route additions by airlines to match the demand swell cannot be ruled out.

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.0 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +44.9%, +48.4% and +55.2% per year.

Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

See Stocks Free >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

https://www.zacks.com

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 https://www.zacks.com/performance  for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Air Lease Corporation (AL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

CrowdStrike (CRWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research