U.S. Global Jets ETF

NYSE Arca:JETSUnited States

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) fell 4.5% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the air carrier reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss, but provided a downbeat revenue outlook for the current quarter. Net losses narrowed to $60 million, or 17 cents a share, from $153 million, or 46 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss of 16 cents beat the FactSet loss consensus of 21 cents. Total revenue grew 0.5% to $2.365 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $2.356 billion, as passenger revenue slipped 0.1% to $2.198 billion to top expectations of $2.182 billion. Operating expenses fell 4.2% to $2.40 billion, as a 16.8% drop in aircraft fuel expenses to $584 million helped offset a 4.7% increase in payroll costs to $827 million. Load factor improved to 86.6% from 85.1%, as the 3.6% decline in capacity outpaced the 1.9% drop in traffic. For the current fourth quarter, JetBlue expects revenue to be down 7% to 3% from a year ago, while the current FactSet revenue consensus of $2.302 billion implies a 1% decline. The stock has run up 31.9% year to date through Monday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) has climbed 21.0% and the S&P 500 has advanced 22.1%.

By Teresa Rivas

Modern air travel may be a headache for passengers, but it is even worse for shareholders. Nonetheless, there are times when investors can make money from the space, as long as they don't stay for the long haul.

Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) climbed 5.4% toward a five-month high in premarket trading Thursday, after the air carrier reported third-quarter profit that beat expectations and raised its full-year outlook. Net losses for the quarter to Sept. 30 narrowed to $149 million, or 23 cents a share, from $545 million, or 83 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share slipped to 30 cents from 38 cents and were well above the FactSet EPS consensus of 16 cents. Revenue grew 1.2% to $13.65 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $13.50 billion. Load factor increased to 86.6% from 84.0%, to reach the highest level in more than 10 years and to beat the FactSet consensus of 84.2%, as traffic increased 7.1% to 43.11 billion revenue passenger miles and capacity was up 3.9% to 50.04 billion available seat miles. Looking ahead, the company raised its guidance range for full-year adjusted EPS to between $1.35 and $1.60 from a previously lowered range of between 70 cents and $1.30. The stock has lost 6.6% year to date through Wednesday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) has rallied 19% and the S&P 500 index has climbed 21.5%.