It's
only January, but American Airlines believes it is going to have a good year in
2024.
Based
largely on what it believes will be a continuation of the demand for
international travel, American has forecasted a profitable
year well above Wall Street estimates.
Shares
were up almost four percent at the opening bell on Thursday morning.
The company expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be
between $2.25 and $3.25, compared with analysts' estimate of $2.25 per share.
Call it a late Christmas gift for stockholders.
“We’re really pleased with the results, we closed out the year
strong,” CEO Robert Isom told CNBC. “At American, we’re focused on reliability,
profitability and really strengthening our balance sheet.”
“We’ve done all of those, I think that we’re going to have a
really busy first and second quarter, and I think the time to buy is right now
for travel,” Isom continued. “ It’s going to be a busy year.”
Domestic airlines such as American, JetBlue, United and Delta,
among others, that also fly overseas, are experiencing a demand for international
travel. That is especially true as airfares have become more reasonable for
international flights.
Ironically, American just about broke even in the fourth quarter
of 2023.
The carrier’s gain of three cents per share was down $1.11 per
share from the same period a year earlier.
But the company still made $13.06 billion in revenue.
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