American Airlines stock surges 10% as strong demand drives 2024 profit forecast

American Airlines Thursday posted a $19m profit for the last three months of 2023, topping Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines. Shares of the company rose more than 10% on Thursday. Here’s how American performed in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv: Earnings per share: 29 cents adjusted vs. 10 cents expected. Revenue: $13.06b vs. $13.02b expected. For the last three months of 2023, American Airlines reported net income of $19m, down nearly 98% from $803m the year prior. Earnings per share decreased to 3 cents from $1.14 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Adjusting for one-time items, including the impact of a new labor agreement with the airline’s pilots, American earned 29 cents per share. In its Q3 earnings report, the airline had estimated it would break even for the December period. “We’re really pleased with the results, we closed out the year strong,” CEO Robert Isom said Thursday. “At American, we’re focused on reliability, profitability and really strengthening our balance sheet. We’ve done all of those ... I think that we’re going to have a really busy first and second quarter, and I think the time to buy is right now for travel. It’s going to be a busy year.”<br/>