In This Story
JetBlue Airways presented earnings Tuesday, and its stock is soaring because the numbers were better than expected. They weren’t good on their face — net income was down more than 80% year-over-year to $25 million; revenue was down 7% to $2.5 billion — but Wall Street had forecasted a loss for the quarter. In early Tuesday, shares were up 22%.
“We closed the first half of 2024 with meaningful year-over-year improvements in our operation and exceeded our second-quarter guidance through strong execution, early evidence the changes we are implementing as part of our refocused strategy are yielding positive benefits,” the airline’s CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a statement accompanying the release. “Today, and as the year progresses, we are excited to share more details about JetForward, our strategic framework to return JetBlue to sustained profitability.”
JetBlue started the year questioning whether its merger with Spirit Airlines would be allowed to go forward. A judge gave the carrier its answer in January (no), and the two companies formally called things off in March. Since then, Geraghty has taken to calling the three years of discussions “a distraction” and trying to figure out how her company would be able to fly solo.
Though it’s trying to increase its “premium” offerings to boost revenues, JetBlue is also cutting capacity like other players; it reminded investors that it had cut 50 routes to focus on flying more profitable passengers. It’s still expecting revenue to be lower this year than last, clarifying that the “low single digit” drop it suggested last quarter is looking more like 5-10%. That’s why Geraghty said JetBlue will be focusing on “keeping our costs low so that we can continue to offer customers exceptional value in the sky as we build a secure financial future for JetBlue.”