JetBlue’s stock rises more than 20% as a new profit target helps calm fears about the airline’s viability JetBlue shares rallied on Tuesday after the beleaguered airline sought to allay worries about its business, saying it’s on the cusp of being profitable again — something it hasn’t managed to accomplish since 2019. Investors zeroed in on comments by CEO Joanna Geraghty earlier Tuesday. JetBlue’s chief said on a call with analysts that the airline remains “focused on operating profitability in 2027” and sees “multiple paths to at least $1 in earnings per share and positive free cash flow in 2028.” The stock was rising more than 20% on Tuesday, on track for its largest one-day percentage gain in more than two years.
Tuesday’s gains take some of the sting out of a difficult October. The stock is down more than 30% this month, which is shaping up to be its worst since March 2020. Shares are down nearly 40% this year, and fell nearly 10% on Monday, ending at a record low for the third straight session.
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Demand remains resilient, and the airline is starting to reap compounding benefits of its multiyear turnaround plan, she added. The airline late Monday reported a third-quarter loss of 60 cents a share, wider than Wall Street’s expectations for a loss of 54 cents a share, according to FactSet. Quarterly revenue was in line with expectations.
JetBlue has been a focus of investors’ concerns for months as it and other lower-cost U.S. carriers struggle to break through the dominance of full-service, legacy airlines such as Delta Air Lines and United , and following thebankruptcy of Spirit Airlines in May. The airline industry has also had to contend with high jet-fuel prices pushing up costs and eating away at their profits. Concerns about JetBlue’s viability have flared in recent days, however.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a group of senior JetBlue creditors engaged advisers, a step typically taken when creditors have doubts about repayments they are owed. JetBlue, however, appears to be strong operationally in areas within its control, analysts at UBS said in a note Tuesday. The airline has reiterated that it has sufficient liquidity through 2028 and finished the third quarter with about $2.2 billion.
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