American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) gained altitude in morning trading on Thursday after the airline raised its Q4 expectations. The airline is expected to announce its Q4 earnings on January 17.
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AAL now expects its revenues to grow in the range of 16% to 17% versus the fourth quarter of 2019. The company had guided for a growth rate in the range of 11% to 13% earlier.
Adjusted earnings are expected to come in the range of $1.12 to $1.17 per diluted share in Q4 almost double its prior forecast between $0.50 and $0.70 and well above the consensus estimates of $0.6. AAL also hiked its Q4 adjusted operating margin to be in the range of 10.25% and 10.5% from its prior forecast of 5.5% to 7.5%.
AAL achieved more than half of its goal when it comes to reducing its debt “with total debt down more than $7.5 billion in the first 18 months of the program.”
Analysts are sidelined about AAL stock with a Hold consensus rating based on two Buys, four Holds, and two Sells.