JetBlue Airways Hits Estimates in Solid Quarter

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

JetBlue Airways (NAS: JBLU) reported earnings on Oct. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), JetBlue Airways met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins dropped, operating margins shrank, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 JetBlue Airways logged revenue of $1.31 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $1.31 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.20 billion.

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

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.14. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.14 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.14 for Q3 were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.11 per share.

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 28.7%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.4%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.23 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.04.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.44.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 948 members out of 1,159 rating the stock outperform, and 211 members rating it underperform. Among 275 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 222 give JetBlue Airways a green thumbs-up, and 53 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on JetBlue Airways is hold, with an average price target of $6.78.

The article JetBlue Airways Hits Estimates in Solid Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool owns shares of JetBlue Airways. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend JetBlue Airways. 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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