Alaska Air raises Q3 EPS view to $2.15-$2.25 from $1.40-$1.60

Consensus is $1.61. “Throughout the summer travel period, we continued to experience strong demand as we flew a record schedule and delivered a reliable operation for guests with a 99.3% completion rate QTD. While capacity remains in line with prior expectations, revenue has performed better than anticipated driven by additional revenue in July related to CrowdStrike disruptions across the industry and stronger performance in August and September. As previously expected, unit revenue inflected positively in August, and with continued strength into September, we now expect total unit revenue to be up approximately 2% y/y in Q3 2024. Additionally, moderating crude oil and West Coast refining margins have led us to lower our economic fuel cost expectations to $2.60 to $2.70 per gallon for the quarter.” Still sees Q3 capacity up 2%-3%, with CASMex up high single digits, but now sees RASM up about 2% vs. previous view of flat to positive.