JetBlue Airways (JBLU 11.97%) stock tumbled 10.9% through 12:40 p.m. ET Tuesday despite reporting a "meet or beat" quarter this morning.
Heading into its Q3 report, analysts expected JetBlue to report $0.42 per share in losses on sales of $2.32 billion. They got the revenue number right (a "meet"), but JetBlue actually lost only $0.40 per share in the quarter (and that's a "beat").
So why aren't investors happier about this?
Image source: JetBlue Airways.
JetBlue Q3 earnings
Management seems at a loss, insisting "JetBlue's progress toward profitability is gaining momentum." CEO Joanna Geraghty says both "revenue and costs came in at the better half of their respective guidance ranges, significantly improving our financial performance throughout the quarter."
And yet, revenue that met expectations still fell nearly 2% year over year, while "operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 2.7% year over year." RASM fell worse than overall revenue, in part because JetBlue is expanding capacity, with 0.9% more seats available in Q3 2025 than a year ago.
Meanwhile, costs are on the rise, with "operating expense per available seat mile, excluding fuel, other non-airline operating expenses, and special items" up 3.7%.
Revenue down, costs up -- that there's a recipe for how to lose money running an airline.
NASDAQ: JBLU
Key Data Points
Is JetBlue stock a sell?
JetBlue says it's "optimistic the demand environment will continue to improve through the end of the year," helping to balance cost growth with revenue growth. For the time being, though, the stock's still losing money -- $469 million over the past year -- and burning cash, about $1.35 billion.
Wall Street analysts, meanwhile, forecast continued losses as far out as anyone is making predictions. Until that changes, I find it hard to call JetBlue stock anything but a "sell."
