UAL - Airline stocks rip big gains after Delta Air Lines points to strong travel demand

2023-06-27 14:30:24 ET

Airline stocks pushed higher on Tuesday after Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) lifted its second-quarter profit outlook and posted full-year guidance at the high end of its prior range.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) CEO Ed Bastian pointed to sustained travel demand during his talk at an investor event and said airline customers are still financially healthy. "Everyone is worried about the consumer, Our customer is quite strong," he noted.

Balance sheets may also be getting healthier in the airline sector, with Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) guiding for free cash flow for next year of $4B, which is just a shade below the pre-pandemic level.

Even before Delta's ( DAL ) guidance update, Bank of America raised its 2023 EPS estimates across the sector due to lower fuel costs in comparison to earlier in the quarter.

The entire U.S. airline sector showed a gain in late afternoon trading on Tuesday: American Airlines ( AAL ) +5.90% , Delta Airlines ( DAL ) +6.28% , Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) +3.77% , United Airlines ( UAL ) +5.49% , JetBlue ( JBLU ) +9.25% , Hawaiian Holdings ( HA ) +19.29% , Alaska Air Group ( ALK ) +4.49% , Allegiant Travel ( ALGT ) +4.33% , Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) +3.95% , Mesa Airlines ( MESA ) +11.25% , SkyWest ( SKYW ) +2.29% , Sun Country Airlines ( SNCY ) +5.41% , Frontier Group ( ULCC ) +7.25% .

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