American Airlines beats fourth-quarter profit expectations as higher fares buoy revenue

American Airlines’ Q4 profit beat analysts’ expectations as strong travel demand and high fares buoyed results during a turbulent holiday season. Here’s how American Airlines performed in Q4 compared with what Wall Street anticipated, based on an average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Refinitiv: * Adjusted earnings per share: $1.17 versus an expected $1.14 * Total revenue: $13.19b versus expected $13.20b For the three months ended Dec. 31, the company reported net income of $803m, or $1.14 per share, unadjusted — a stark improvement from a loss of $931m, or $1.44 per share, during the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue of $13.19b was up 16.6% from the same period in 2019, before the Covid pandemic stymied travel. American earlier this month raised its revenue and profit estimates for its Q4. American raked in that record Q4 revenue despite operating 6.1% less capacity, suggesting flyers keep paying up for seats. For the full year, American reported $127m in net income. It was the first full-year profit for the carrier since 2019, CEO Robert Isom said in a message to employees Thursday morning. The company paid an average of $3.50 per gallon of fuel in the fourth quarter, up 48% from last year. It expects that cost to come down to somewhere between $3.33 and $3.38 per gallon as it heads into its first quarter of 2023. Based on those cost estimates and where demand is going, American said it expects capacity to be 8% to 10% higher than Q1 2022 and projects that it will break even on earnings per share.<br/>