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Frontier sinks as high fuel costs dampen record Q1 revenue, weigh on Q2 earnings guidance

Budget airline Frontier reported its first-quarter results before markets opened on Tuesday. Its shares fell more than 5% in premarket trading.

For Q1, Frontier reported:

  • An adjusted loss of $0.30 per share, compared to Wall Street estimates of a $0.36 loss per share, per analysts polled by FactSet.

  • $1.07 billion in revenue, compared to the $1.05 billion consensus estimate.

  • $268 million in fuel expenses, up 13% from last year. Like the rest of the industry, Frontier has been rocked by higher fuel costs.

Looking ahead, Frontier guided for a second-quarter adjusted loss of between $0.60 and $0.45 per share, deeper than the estimates of a $0.31 loss per share. Frontier said it expects to pay $4.25 per gallon of jet fuel in Q2, up about 48% from Q1.

Frontier shares closed up more than 10% on Friday on reports that rival Spirit would likely cease operations over the weekend. Following Spirit’s shutdown, Frontier climbed more on Monday. The carrier has the most direct route overlap with Spirit of any airline — though it may not benefit from its rival’s downfall as much as larger rivals with more premium ticket exposure.

A group of budget carriers including Frontier has sought $2.5 billion in government assistance to help sustain operations amid higher fuel costs. Following Spirit’s collapse, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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