SkyWest Shares Rise 7.7% Since Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings Release

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Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.54 missed the consensus mark of $2.70 and declined 12.7% year over year. Revenues of $1.103 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.106 billion and improved 6.5% year over year.

Revenues from flying agreements (contributing 96.5% to the top line) rose 7.8% year over year to $1.06 billion. The airline carried 1.3% fewer passengers in the reported quarter on a year-over-year basis. Departures increased 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. The passenger load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) fell 2.2 points to 80.6%.

Concurrent with its second-quarter 2026 results, SkyWest intends to purchase and operate 11 new E175 aircraft under a multiyear flying contract for American Airlines AAL. The 11 new E175 aircraft are expected to replace 11 CRJ700s. SkyWest is currently flying under contract with American.

During the first half of 2026, the company took delivery of two E175 aircraft, one each for Alaska Airlines (ALK) and United Airlines (UAL).

By the end of 2027, SKYW anticipates having 300 E175 aircraft in its fleet. As previously announced, SkyWest entered into a purchase agreement with Embraer, which secures delivery positions for 33 additional E175s from 2028 through 2032 for potential future flying opportunities. The company’s purchase agreement with Embraer also includes purchase rights for 50 additional E175s, as previously announced.

Operating expenses were $947 million, up 9% year over year, owing to an expected rise in incremental direct operating costs associated with increased production in the reported quarter and higher pilot training costs.

At the end of the second quarter, the company had cash and marketable securities of $6 million compared with $707 million at the December-quarter end of 2025. Long-term debt (net of current maturities) was $1.64 billion compared with $1.85 billion reported at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.

Capital expenditures during the reported quarter were $139 million, including the purchase of one new E175 aircraft, spare engines and other fixed assets.

SkyWest repurchased 783,000 shares for $75 million during the first quarter of 2026. As of March 31, 2026, SkyWest had $138 million available under its current share repurchase program.

SkyWest repurchased 833,000 shares of its common stock for approximately $75 million during the second quarter of 2026 at an average price of $89.55 per share. During the first half of 2026, SkyWest repurchased 1.6 million shares of its common stock for $150 million. As of June 30, 2026, SkyWest had approximately $63 million of remaining availability under its existing stock repurchase program. As announced today, SkyWest’s board of directors approved a $250 million increase to the existing stock repurchase program.

Currently, SKYW carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Q2 Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies WAB, operating as Wabtec Corporation, reported encouraging second-quarter 2026 results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year.

Quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.76 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.63 by 4.9% and increased 21.6% year over year, owing to higher sales and operating margin expansion.

Revenues climbed 17.5% to $3.18 billion and surpassed the consensus mark of $3.08 billion by 3.2%.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.99 per share, down 48.6% year over year but above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 by 3.7%.

Operating revenues rose 16% to $17.67 billion and were essentially in line with the $17.68 billion consensus mark. A 12.1% increase in total revenues per available seat mile or TRASM, and broad-based gains across premium, loyalty and cargo revenues, supported the top line despite sharply higher fuel costs.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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