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 European budget airline Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY 1.19%) plunged 13% today after cutting its full-year profit outlook yet again.
So what: Ryanair's second warning in two months puts the company on pace to post its first annual profit decline in five years, reinforcing serious concerns over intensifying price competition in Europe. Although the company expects the softness to be short term in nature, management admitted that its share repurchase plan that is due by the end of 2015 could be put on hold if pricing continues to fall dramatically over the next year.
Now what: Management said that its full-year 2014 profit could now fall to 500 million-520 million euros, well below its earlier view of 570 million-600 million euros given in September. "People are characterizing this as 'what's gone wrong?' Nothing! We are booming ahead," CEO Michael O'Leary reassured analysts in a conference call. "There is a weaker pricing environment out there. Get over it. Wherever that pricing falls, it will be significantly below what our competitors can withstand." Of course, when you consider that intense pricing pressure is simply a fact of life in the cutthroat airline industry, Ryanair shares might not be the best long-term turnaround opportunity.
