Airline Earnings On The Docket For Next Week: A Preview

• Several major airlines are scheduled to announce their fourth quarter fiscal 2015 financial results next week.
• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL is reporting on Tuesday morning, while Southwest Airlines Co LUV, United Continental Holdings Inc UAL and Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK are set to report on Thursday morning.
• So, let’s take a look at what the Street and the Crowd are expecting from these companies ahead of their earnings calls.

Delta Air Lines

First off is Delta Air Lines, which is set to announce its fourth quarter financial results before the market opens next Tuesday. According to Estimize, expectations point toward a year-over-year increase of more than 52 percent in earnings.

In the fourth quarter last year, the airliner reported earnings of $0.78 per share on revenue of $9.65 billion. A year later, the Street is modeling consensus earnings of $1.19 per share on revenue of $9.586 billion, while the Crowd projects EPS of $1.22 on sales of $9.58 billion.

Southwest Airlines

Next up is Southwest Airlines, which is reporting before the market opens on Thursday, January 21. Same as in Delta’s case, expectations point toward a year-over-year surge in earnings of at least 52 percent, from $0.59 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, to $0.90 per share (Street consensus) or $0.91 per share (Crowd consensus) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.

Revenue is also anticipated to rise substantially from the $4.628 billion retrieved a year ago. For the current quarter, the Street envisions sales of $5.024 billion, while the Crowd’s consensus for revenue stands at $5.055 billion.

United Continental Holdings

United Continental is expected to deliver a stellar quarter, with earnings doubling those seen a year ago. In the fourth quarter of last year, the company reported earnings of $1.20 per share on revenue of $9.313 billion.

Both the Street and the Crowd envision slightly lower sales of roughly $9.14 billion; however, analysts are modeling EPS of $2.61, while the Crowd is projecting EPS of $2.58.

Alaska Air Group

Finally, there’s Alaska Air Group, expected to retrieve a 54 percent increase in earnings, year-over-year. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, both the Street and the Crowd are anticipating earnings of $1.45 per share, on revenue of $1.382 billion and $1.386 billion, respectively. These estimates imply a substantial amelioration from the EPS of $0.94 on revenue of $1.31 billion reported a year ago.

Interestingly, it should be noted that Alaska Air Group has tended to slightly beat expectations over the past eight quarters.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.