Summary by Moomoo AI
Southwest Airlines reported third quarter 2024 net income of $67 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, with record Q3 operating revenues of $6.9 billion, up 5.3% YoY. Excluding special items, net income was $89 million, or $0.15 per diluted share. The company maintained strong liquidity of $10.4 billion against debt of $8.0 billion.Operating expenses increased 6.6% YoY to $6.8 billion, with CASM-X up 11.6%. The company expects Q4 2024 RASM to increase 3.5-5.5% YoY with capacity down approximately 4%. Holiday season bookings remain strong, demonstrating resilient leisure travel demand.The company announced a $250 million accelerated share repurchase program under its $2.5 billion authorization. For Q4 2024, Southwest expects capacity to decrease ~4% YoY and CASM-X to increase 11-13%. The company continues to implement cost control measures and expects over $500 million in run-rate cost savings by 2027.
