Alaska Air Group Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Alaska Air Group (NYS: ALK) reported earnings on Jan. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Alaska Air Group met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded, and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Alaska Air Group notched revenue of $1.04 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.06 billion. Sales were 9.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $958.5 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.02. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.16 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $2.12 for Q4 were 0.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.75 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 26.9%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.9%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.1%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.04 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $9.61.

Investor sentiment
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alaska Air is outperform, with an average price target of $86.96.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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