Skift Take
Southwest’s third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates, a bright spot for the carrier that has been fending off an activist investor for months.
Southwest Airlines reported Thursday that it is seeing strong bookings for the holiday travel season and healthy demand as it deals with an activist investor.
The carrier’s third-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, with a net income of $67 million and revenues of $6.9 billion. Southwest is expecting an increase in revenue for the fourth quarter.
However, the carrier said it is forecasting cancellations from Hurricane Milton and a reduction in capacity to put some pressure on its costs in the fourth quarter.
Even though its profits were down 65%, Southwest partly attributed its better-than-expected third quarter results to an industry-wide moderation in domestic capacity.
“We are laser-focused on delivering the robust set of tactical and strategic initiatives inclu