US Airways Group Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

US Airways Group (NYS: LCC) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), US Airways Group met expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
US Airways Group reported revenue of $3.27 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $3.25 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.96 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.13. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.25 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were $0.28 for Q1 versus -$0.71 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 32.4%, 1,790 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.9%, 310 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.5%, 540 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.67 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.09.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $13.88 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.97.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 450 members rating the stock outperform and 335 members rating it underperform. Among 176 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 88 give US Airways Group a green thumbs-up, and 88 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on US Airways Group is outperform, with an average price target of $12.05.

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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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