Alaska Air (ALK) Q1 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

For the quarter ended March 2024, Alaska Air Group (ALK) reported revenue of $2.23 billion, up 1.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$0.92, compared to -$0.62 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +2.42% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.18 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$1.09, the EPS surprise was +15.60%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Alaska Air performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Passenger Load Factor: 81.4% versus the five-analyst average estimate of 80.9%.

• Economic fuel cost per gallon: $3.08 compared to the $3.10 average estimate based on four analysts.

• Available seat miles (ASM): 15,378 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of 15,313.32 million.

• Total revenue per ASM (RASM): 14.51 cents versus 14.24 cents estimated by four analysts on average.

• Revenue passenger miles (RPM): 12,524 million compared to the 12,397.06 million average estimate based on four analysts.

• Fuel gallons: 188 Mgal versus the three-analyst average estimate of 189.29 Mgal.

• Passenger Yield: 16 cents versus 15.8 cents estimated by three analysts on average.

• Consolidated - ASMs per fuel gallon: 81.8 Gal versus the three-analyst average estimate of 81.04 Gal.

• Consolidated - Revenue passengers: 9,774,000 thousand versus 10,384,560 thousand estimated by two analysts on average.

• Revenue- Passenger: $2 billion compared to the $1.96 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +1% year over year.

• Revenue- Mileage Plan other: $164 million compared to the $158.43 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +6.5% year over year.

• Revenue- Cargo and other: $64 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $56.53 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +10.3%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Alaska Air here>>>

Shares of Alaska Air have returned +10.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.7% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research