Key Takeaways
- JetBlue Airways on Wednesday revised its outlook for current-quarter and full-year revenue upward and said it benefited from higher demand after the U.S. presidential election last month.
- The carrier said its bookings in November and December immediately after the vote were higher than it expected.
- JetBlue also had a better-than-expected Thanksgiving week performance, and the air carrier reported that December bookings were greater than anticipated, too.
Shares of JetBlue Airways (JBLU) soared Wednesday after the airline improved its revenue estimate for the current quarter and full year, attributing the upgrades to a post-election travel surge.
The carrier said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it now sees fourth-quarter revenue down 2% to 5%, versus its previous outlook from late October forecasting a drop of 3% to 7% for the quarter ending Dec. 31. JetBlue expects a full-year revenue decline of 3.5% to 4.5%, compared with the earlier-predicted 4% to 5%.
End-of-Year ‘Revenue Headwind’ Reduced After Election
The company explained that its booking performance for travel in November and December “was higher than expectations immediately following the U.S. presidential election.” It said because of that, the “fourth quarter revenue headwind from the election is now estimated to be 0.5 points compared to the previous forecast of 1.0 point.”
In addition, JetBlue noted that a strong Thanksgiving week performance resulted in better-than-anticipated revenue during that November holiday peak. It also said that for December travel, in-quarter bookings were higher than initially thought.
JetBlue Airways shares gained nearly 8% in midday trading Wednesday, rising to $6.53, and are up about 17.6% year-to-date after a volatile year for the stock price.
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