Airline Stock Roundup: DAL Gives '25 Sales Growth View, ALK in Focus

In the past week, Delta Air Lines DAL management stated in its investor day presentation that 2025 revenues are expected to grow in the mid-single digits from the 2024 reported level. Alaska Airlines, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group ALK, launched non-stop flights from Los Angeles to La Paz, Mexico. The carrier aims to launch nine more non-stop routes from the West Coast to top winter destinations in December.With Thanksgiving travel likely to set a record this year, Delta, United Airlines UAL and American Airlines AAL have issued bullish forecasts with respect to passenger volumes in the Thanksgiving travel period.Read the Last Airline Roundup hereRecap of the Recent Most Important Stories1. Delta expects to expand flying by 3-4% in 2025 from 2024. The company also reiterated its fourth-quarter 2024 outlook. DAL expects adjusted earnings of $1.6-$1.85 per share for fourth-quarter 2024. The adjusted operating margin in the December quarter is expected to be 11-13%. Management projects fourth-quarter 2024 total revenues (adjusted) at $13.9-$14.2 billion, suggesting an increase of 2-4% from the fourth-quarter 2023 actual. DAL expects adjusted earnings to grow 10% per year over the next three to five years. The operating margin is expected in the mid-teens.DAL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here2. Alaska Airlines intends to launch nine routes from the West Coast to various winter destinations in December. The December route additions include connections from Fresno to Guadalajara, and Boise to Bozeman. The new routes would make it easier for travelers to reach sunny and snowy destinations, catering to diverse customer preferences for winter getaways.3. Airlines for America (A4A) — the trade organization for leading U.S. airlines — expects airline companies to make hay during the Thanksgiving travel period. The trade group predicted that the Thanksgiving of 2024 will be the busiest season for American air travel carriers. Per A4A, more than 31 million passengers will be transported through U.S. airlines during this Thanksgiving travel period, which is an all-time high. As a result, various U.S. carriers issued bullish passenger volume forecasts. Delta expects the Thanksgiving holiday period to be the busiest ever for the company, with 6.5 million passengers between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3. An average of 540,000 passengers are expected to fly with Delta each day during the 12-day travel period, marking a 5% year-over-year increase. United Airlines expects 6.2 million passengers to fly between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3. Per the forecast, nearly 480,000 people will fly on UAL flights daily — about 30,000 more people per day than last year. AAL expects to transport 500,000 more passengers during the 2024 Thanksgiving travel period than last year. The airline anticipates 8.3 million passengers to fly on more than 77,000 AAL flights between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3. AAL expects Dec. 1 to be the busiest travel day.PerformanceThe following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The NYSE ARCA Airline Index inched up 0.8% to $64.45, as most stocks in the table above traded in the green. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index rose 7.7%.What’s Next in the Airline Space?With the earnings season over, we expect updates from many carriers regarding their plans to meet the anticipated demand swell during the winter travel season.Free: 5 Stocks to Buy As Infrastructure Spending SoarsTrillions of dollars in Federal funds have been earmarked to repair and upgrade America’s infrastructure. In addition to roads and bridges, this flood of cash will pour into AI data centers, renewable energy sources and more.In, you’ll discover 5 surprising stocks positioned to profit the most from the spending spree that’s just getting started in this space.Download How to Profit from the Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Boom absolutely free today.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks