The stock of American Airlines (AAL) is down 8% after the world’s largest carrier issued forward guidance that disappointed Wall Street.
For the fourth and final quarter of 2024, American Airlines announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.86 U.S., which was far ahead of the $0.64 U.S. expected among analysts.
American’s fourth-quarter profit rose just over 3,000% to $590 million U.S. from only $19 million U.S. a year earlier.
Revenue in Q4 totaled $13.66 billion U.S., which was ahead of the $13.40 billion U.S. expected
on Wall Street. Sales were up 4.6% from a year ago.
The carrier’s management team said revenue from both domestic and international flights rose in the quarter.
Unfortunately, American Airlines’ guidance overshadowed what were otherwise strong results.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based company forecast an adjusted loss per share of $0.20 U.S. to $0.40 U.S. for the first quarter of this year.
Analysts had a $0.04 U.S. profit penciled in for American Airlines.
Management said the first-quarter loss projection is due to higher unit costs, excluding fuel, along with lower capacity, which it expects to fall by as much as 2% year-over-year.
Prior to today, American Airlines stock had risen 33% over the past 12 months to trade at $18.66 U.S. per share.
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