Delta Air Lines Inc

Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) operating revenue fell 3% in 2016 before gaining 3% in 9M17 (or the first nine months of 2017).

Only four airlines—Delta Air Lines (DAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), American Airlines (AAL), and Alaska Air Group (ALK)—pay dividends to investors.

As of September 19, 2017, one analyst out of the 15 analysts tracking JetBlue Airways (JBLU) had a “strong buy” recommendation on the stock.

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For August 2017, AAL’s international traffic increased 6.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date, its international traffic has increased 5.5% YoY.

American Airlines’ (AAL) capacity grew 3.2% year-over-year in August, significantly higher than its 0.4% year-over-year growth reported in the previous seven months.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) has an indicated dividend yield of 2.0%, the highest among the four airlines that pay dividends.

There are only four airlines that currently pay dividends. This is due to the fact that airlines have struggled to stay profitable for a long time now.

United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA is expected to fall 10% to $1.8 billion.

At the start of the year, United announced its plan to grow its capacity by 0%–1%, in line with GDP growth expectations.

During 1Q17, Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) debt rose by ~$2 billion at a blended interest rate of just 3.3%.

AAL’s utilization rose 0.3% YoY (year-over-year) in February, then by 1.8% YoY in April and 0.2% YoY in May.

For May 2017, American Airlines (AAL) reported a 2.3% YoY (year-over-year) growth in capacity—its highest growth so far in 2017.

Only one analyst has upgraded Delta Air Lines (DAL) since it released its traffic data on Friday, June 2, 2017.

The airline industry is very capital-intensive, so airlines generally have huge debt numbers on their balance sheets.

For 1Q17, analysts are now expecting United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA to fall 39% to $0.81 billion.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) is currently valued at 5.3x its forward EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) multiple.

One of the major risks to Frontier Airlines is the fact that almost 45% of its flights originate from a single hub—Denver.

Frontier Airlines earned 42% of its revenue from ancillary fees or non-ticket revenue in 2016—a significant rise compared to 25% in 2015.

In 4Q16, regional carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE) had a leverage ratio of 0.96x, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) had a leverage ratio of 0.83x, and Alaska Air Group (ALK) had a leverage ratio of 0.36x.

The FedEx Ground segment’s revenues rose 6% from $4.4 billion in 3Q16 to $4.7 billion in fiscal 3Q17.

Delta Air Lines started paying dividends only in 2013, and it’s one of the few airlines that pay dividends.

Until 3Q16, Delta Air Lines (DAL) had managed to keep its costs flat if not decreasing. However…

Delta Air Lines (DAL) saw average traffic of about 50 million passenger miles for the quarter, a 0.8% year-over-year improvement

United expects to add $800 million to profits by increasing seats from 105 per departure to 121 per departure in 2018.

For 4Q16, analysts are expecting United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA to fall 26% to $1.4 billion.

For November 2016, American Airlines’s (AAL) load factor fell 0.3% and year-to-date 2016, its load factor fell 1.3%.

In November 2016, American Airlines’s (AAL) traffic fell 0.2% year-over-year, slightly lagging its capacity growth in the same period. Year-to-date, AAL’s traffic has increased 0.3%.

American Airlines’s (AAL) capacity grew 0.1% year-over-year in November 2016, similar to the growth seen during most of 2016. Year-to-date, AAL’s capacity has grown 1.9%.

For November 2016, Alaska Air Group’s capacity rose 2.8% YoY (year-over-year). It’s the slowest growth in any month in 2016.

For 3Q16, JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) revenues stood at $1.73 billion—a 2.6% year-over-year increase compared to revenue of $1.69 billion in 3Q15.

JetBlue Airways (JBLU) saw average traffic of about 11.9 billion passenger miles for the quarter, a 7.6% year-over-year increase

All airline pilots have their eyes on Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) final agreement with its pilots. This is because Delta’s deal will set a precedent in the industry.

The airline industry is cyclical, which means that its business depends on the country’s economic growth. Most analysts have revised their GDP estimates downward, resulting in a consensus estimate of 2.9% YoY growth.

FedEx’s (FDX) Freight segment revenues rose 4% from $1.6 billion in fiscal 1Q16 to ~$1.7 billion in fiscal 1Q17.

On May 25, 2016, FedEx (FDX) completed the 4.4 billion euro acquisition of the Netherlands-based TNT Express NV.

In this part of the series, we’ll take a look at what Wall Street analysts are saying about US truckload carriers and how they’re rating the stocks.

Landstar System (LSTR) and Heartland Express (HTLD) have higher available cash on their balance sheets than total debt.

Foreign currency fluctuations and lower fuel surcharges in the international market will have a negative impact on Alaska Air Group’s unit revenues.

For August 2016, Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) capacity increased by 10.3% YoY. After average growth of 13% in 1Q16, its growth slowed down to 11% in 2Q16.

In July 2016, Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) traffic grew by 1.4% YoY, which was slightly lower than its capacity growth of 2.3% YoY.

Alaska Air Group (ALK) does not give any future unit revenue guidance. However, we can expect the PRASM’s decline to continue.

For July 2016, Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) capacity increased by 9.6% year-over-year. After an average growth of 13% in 1Q16, growth slowed to 11% in 2Q16 and is slowing further in the third quarter.

Capacity growth Like other airlines, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) has taken advantage of falling crude oil prices to expand its existing fleet. JetBlue’s double-digit revenue growth has been fueled by double-digit growth in its capacity. Historically, JetBlue Airways has seen the highest capacity growth among the seven major airlines. Spirit Airlines (SAVE) has seen the highest growth, followed by Alaska […]

Among major truckload companies, in 1Q16, Werner Enterprises (WERN) declared the highest dividend growth, at $0.06 per share, which is a 20% YoY increase.

Among truckload companies, Landstar and Heartland have a lot of available cash compared to total debt. Swift and J.B. Hunt have high net debt-to-EBITDAs.

Swift Transportation has a consensus rating of 4.36 or “strong buy” among truckload carriers. Out of 22 analysts, 15 gave it a “buy” recommendation.

FedEx expects FedEx Freight revenues to rise in fiscal 2017.

American Airlines’ (AAL) capacity growth is one of the slowest in the industry. However, it has the highest capacity among its peers.

In this part of the series, we’ll look at the main services and categories that add to American Airlines’ (AAL) revenues. The major component of revenues still comes from airfares.