US Airways Shares Surged: What You Need to Know (LCC)

US Airways Shares Surged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of airline holding company US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC ) were flying high today, gaining as much as 24% in intraday trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.

So what: US Airways bucked the tough headwind of high jet fuel prices to post an adjusted $0.13-per-share profit for the fourth quarter. That is a drop from $0.17 in per-share profit in the final quarter of 2010, but well ahead of the average analyst estimate of $0.02.

Strong demand and increasing revenue per passenger helped drive the company's quarterly results. US Airways CEO Doug Parker highlighted the fact that the company set records in the fourth quarter for passenger revenue per seat mile as well as overall passenger revenue, total revenue, operating reliability, and on-time performance.

Now what: It certainly looks like a laudable quarter for US Airways and if the company can get a break from the commodity markets, investors may see even better profits ahead. However, with airlines subject to high capital costs while selling a fairly commoditized product, this Fool has a strong bias against airline stocks. Sure, for traders they make great fodder because they have a tendency toward big swings -- as we see today -- but for long-term investors the results from air carries have generally been lackluster at best.

Want to keep up to date on US Airways? Add it to your watchlist.

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting his CAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter @KoppTheFool or Facebook. The Fool's disclosure policy prefers dividends over a sharp stick in the eye.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.