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Frontier GroupC
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Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-11

Where Does Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) Valuation Stand On Its Latest Earnings?

Simply Wall St.
Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St's easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) recently reported second quarter 2026 results that combined higher revenue with wider losses. This gives you fresh information to reassess the stock as of August 2026. The company reported second quarter revenue of US$1,279 million, compared with US$929 million a year earlier. Net loss for the quarter was US$90 million, compared with a loss of US$70 million in the prior year period. See our latest analysis for Frontier Group Holdings. Frontier Group Holdings' latest earnings arrived after a sharp pullback in the share price over the past week, with a 1-day share price return of down 8.13% and a 7-day share price return of down 11.83%. That comes after a strong rebound, given the 90-day share price return of 43.64% and a 1-year total shareholder return of 104.83%. Recent weakness suggests momentum is cooling in the short term, while longer term investors have still seen large gains. If these earnings have you reassessing your watchlist, it can help to compare Frontier Group Holdings with other opportunities in transportation and beyond. You can start with the 19 top founder-led companies After a sharp run over the past year and fresh losses in the latest quarter, Frontier Group Holdings now sits close to analyst targets. The key question for investors is whether the recent pullback leaves enough potential upside to justify the risk. The most followed narrative puts Frontier Group Holdings' fair value at $6.67, just below the last close at $6.78, which implies only a small valuation gap. Read the complete narrative. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what is sitting behind that fair value for Frontier Group Holdings? The story focuses on expectations for faster revenue expansion and rising margins, along with a future earnings multiple that is anticipated to compress rather than stretch expectations. Result: Fair Value of $6.67 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Frontier Group Holdings still faces risks from potential oversupply in U.S. domestic routes and higher non fuel costs, which could pressure margins and weaken this narrative. Find out about the key risks to this Frontier Group Holdings narrative. The analyst n…Read full document

Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St's easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) recently reported second quarter 2026 results that combined higher revenue with wider losses. This gives you fresh information to reassess the stock as of August 2026. The company reported second quarter revenue of US$1,279 million, compared with US$929 million a year earlier. Net loss for the quarter was US$90 million, compared with a loss of US$70 million in the prior year period. See our latest analysis for Frontier Group Holdings. Frontier Group Holdings' latest earnings arrived after a sharp pullback in the share price over the past week, with a 1-day share price return of down 8.13% and a 7-day share price return of down 11.83%. That comes after a strong rebound, given the 90-day share price return of 43.64% and a 1-year total shareholder return of 104.83%. Recent weakness suggests momentum is cooling in the short term, while longer term investors have still seen large gains. If these earnings have you reassessing your watchlist, it can help to compare Frontier Group Holdings with other opportunities in transportation and beyond. You can start with the 19 top founder-led companies After a sharp run over the past year and fresh losses in the latest quarter, Frontier Group Holdings now sits close to analyst targets. The key question for investors is whether the recent pullback leaves enough potential upside to justify the risk. The most followed narrative puts Frontier Group Holdings' fair value at $6.67, just below the last close at $6.78, which implies only a small valuation gap. Read the complete narrative. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what is sitting behind that fair value for Frontier Group Holdings? The story focuses on expectations for faster revenue expansion and rising margins, along with a future earnings multiple that is anticipated to compress rather than stretch expectations. Result: Fair Value of $6.67 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Frontier Group Holdings still faces risks from potential oversupply in U.S. domestic routes and higher non fuel costs, which could pressure margins and weaken this narrative. Find out about the key risks to this Frontier Group Holdings narrative. The analyst narrative suggests Frontier Group Holdings is only slightly overvalued relative to a fair value of $6.67. The SWS DCF model tells a very different story. It places fair value near $29.03, which points to a large potential valuation gap that investors need to examine closely. Look into how the SWS DCF model arrives at its fair value. With mixed signals on value and sentiment around Frontier Group Holdings, it makes sense to review the numbers directly and decide where you stand. To see the balance of potential upside and the issues investors are watching, start with the 2 key rewards and 3 important warning signs. If Frontier Group Holdings is on your radar, do not stop there. Use the Simply Wall St Screener to quickly surface other stocks that match what you care about most. Target steady compounders by focusing on companies that pair reliable earnings with conservative finances using the 83 resilient stocks with low risk scores. Spot potential bargains early by scanning for quality stocks trading below their estimated worth through the 51 high quality undervalued stocks. Hunt for future standouts by screening for under the radar companies with strong fundamentals using the screener containing 21 high quality undiscovered gems. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include ULCC. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-08

Frontier (ULCC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Motley Fool
Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET Senior Director of Investor Relations - David Erdman President and Chief Executive Officer - James Dempsey Chief Commercial Officer - Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Chief Financial Officer - Mark Mitchell Operator Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Frontier Group Holdings Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. I will now hand the conference over to David Erdman, Senior Director of Investor Relations. David, please go ahead. David Erdman Thanks and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me this morning in speaking order are James Dempsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Schroeter, Chief Commercial Officer, and Mark Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer. Each will deliver brief prepared remarks and then we'll open the call for Q&A. Before we begin, however, I will remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties, and we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations can be found in the earnings release issued earlier today and on our Investor Relations website. We also will be referencing stage-adjusted unit metrics which are based on a conversion to 1,000 miles. So I'll turn the call over to Jimmy to begin his prepared remarks. Jimmy? James Dempsey Thanks, David, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter performance was well ahead of our earlier expectations and marks a meaningful step forward in Frontier's transformation. The progress we've delivered this quarter validates the actions we have taken to strengthen the airline and position the business for sustained profitability. I'm incredibly proud of the focus, urgency and execution across Team Frontier as we continue advancing the plan we announced in February. Adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10 compared to our original guidance range of a loss of $0.45 to $0.60 per share, with top-line performance the primary factor. We delivered an all-time company record for quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, up 38% year-over-year, with RASM up 28%, augmented by strong travel demand, the continued progression of our revenue management initiatives, and a more favorable competitive capacity backdrop. We ended the quarter with liquidity of $1.16 billion, further strengthening our bal…Read full document

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET Senior Director of Investor Relations - David Erdman President and Chief Executive Officer - James Dempsey Chief Commercial Officer - Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Chief Financial Officer - Mark Mitchell Operator Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Frontier Group Holdings Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. I will now hand the conference over to David Erdman, Senior Director of Investor Relations. David, please go ahead. David Erdman Thanks and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me this morning in speaking order are James Dempsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Schroeter, Chief Commercial Officer, and Mark Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer. Each will deliver brief prepared remarks and then we'll open the call for Q&A. Before we begin, however, I will remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties, and we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations can be found in the earnings release issued earlier today and on our Investor Relations website. We also will be referencing stage-adjusted unit metrics which are based on a conversion to 1,000 miles. So I'll turn the call over to Jimmy to begin his prepared remarks. Jimmy? James Dempsey Thanks, David, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter performance was well ahead of our earlier expectations and marks a meaningful step forward in Frontier's transformation. The progress we've delivered this quarter validates the actions we have taken to strengthen the airline and position the business for sustained profitability. I'm incredibly proud of the focus, urgency and execution across Team Frontier as we continue advancing the plan we announced in February. Adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10 compared to our original guidance range of a loss of $0.45 to $0.60 per share, with top-line performance the primary factor. We delivered an all-time company record for quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, up 38% year-over-year, with RASM up 28%, augmented by strong travel demand, the continued progression of our revenue management initiatives, and a more favorable competitive capacity backdrop. We ended the quarter with liquidity of $1.16 billion, further strengthening our balance sheet and giving us added flexibility as we execute against our transformation priorities. Across the business, the team has been executing with discipline and momentum against the 4 priorities we set out in February: right-sizing our fleet, strengthening cost discipline, improving operational reliability, and deepening customer loyalty. Beginning with fleet right-sizing, this work is now largely complete and is creating a more efficient, more productive platform for the future. In the second quarter, we returned all 24 aircraft under the AerCap agreement. Moreover, we are in advanced discussions to early terminate leases associated with 13 A320neo aircraft in the coming months and substantially replace that capacity with direct leases for up to 10 newer, more cost-efficient A321neo aircraft by the first quarter of 2027, facilitating slower capacity growth in Q4 of approximately 7%. On cost discipline, we are seeing clear benefits from the actions we have taken to bring productivity back into the airline and remain on track to deliver $200 million of targeted annual run-rate cost savings by 2027. Operational reliability also continued to improve, supported by a system-wide maintenance strategy that is contributing to stronger completion factor and on-time performance. For the first half of the year, Frontier ranked fourth among domestic carriers in completion factor and delivered a controllable completion factor of 99.3%. As demonstrated by today's results, customer loyalty and revenue management are gaining momentum. In late June, we extended and improved our Barclays co-brand credit card partnership. In addition, I'm pleased we recently announced the fleet-wide rollout of Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi. We expect it to launch in early 2027. The introduction of Wi-Fi in conjunction with first-class seating significantly enhances our onboard experience and it reinforces our overarching commitment to delivering meaningful value to customers while maintaining industry-leading fares. In conclusion, we are focused on strengthening the fundamentals of our business and segmenting our revenue base to meet customer expectations. We have real momentum and I'm confident in the path ahead for Frontier. As noted in our guidance update, we anticipate returning the airline to profitability in the second half of the year. With that, I'll turn the call over to Bobby to walk through the commercial updates. Bobby? Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Thanks, Jimmy. RASM came in at $0.1152, 28% higher year-over-year. The vast majority of the increase is a reflection of more disciplined revenue management alongside an improved overall supply-demand backdrop, which is further enhanced by Spirit's exit from overlapping markets. These factors are allowing us to substantially mitigate higher fuel prices. Total revenue per passenger rose 20% to approximately $131 on flown load factor of 80.3%, up 1 point on capacity that was 8% higher. Loyalty continues to be one of our fastest-growing, highest-margin revenue streams and the second quarter reinforced the strength of that platform. For example, the revenue contribution from the Barclays co-brand card increased nearly 30% year-over-year, supported by record co-brand card acquisition activity and continued double-digit growth in cardholder spend through the first half of the year, reflecting the customer's recognition of the value we are delivering in the program. Customer loyalty is increasingly tied to what we deliver on board as well. With our upcoming first-class product and the Starlink rollout Jimmy mentioned, we will be delivering a meaningfully better in-flight experience. One that gives the customers who fly us today more reason to come back. And it puts Frontier in play for customers our fares alone haven't reached. That's what converts a one-time booking into a repeat customer and a repeat customer into our cardholder. As we layer in first-class, Starlink Wi-Fi, and additional loyalty enhancements, we are building a more durable, increasingly diversified revenue base while preserving the cost discipline that defines Frontier's model. Domestic capacity in the third quarter is scheduled to be flat year-over-year, while competitive capacity is down over 4 points. Our third quarter scheduled capacity is expected to increase 2% to 3% sequentially and 17% to 18% year-over-year as we continue to normalize productivity and seize the unique opportunity to backfill lost capacity in the high-value carrier space. Fourth quarter growth, assuming execution of the deals Jimmy mentioned previously, is expected to be approximately 7% year-over-year, more in line with our long-term growth targets. With that, I will now turn the call over to Mark. Mark Mitchell Thanks, Bobby. Total adjusted operating expenses in the second quarter were $1.3 billion, or $0.1177 per ASM, including $436 million of fuel expense at an average cost of $4.17 per gallon, approximately $180 million higher compared to forward indications from early February. Total adjusted operating expenses excluding fuel and the early return agreement were $870 million, or $0.0742 per ASM stage-adjusted, reflecting a sequential decline of over 10% on higher aircraft utilization. Second quarter adjusted net loss was $22 million, or $0.10 per share, significantly favorable to our expected guidance range of a $0.45 to $0.60 loss. The beat was driven by stronger-than-expected revenue performance and disciplined cost management. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $1.16 billion, significantly above our guidance range, representing 27% of trailing 12-month adjusted revenue. The increase during the quarter was supported by stronger sales than expected, the signing bonus received in connection with the Barclays amendment, which was slightly above expectations, and disciplined capital allocation. We ended the quarter with 165 Airbus aircraft, having taken delivery of 2 A320neos and 4 A321neos, and returning all 24 A320neos pursuant to the early return agreement. During the third quarter, we expect to take delivery of one additional A320neo and 5 A321neos from our Airbus order book. As Jimmy mentioned, we are in advanced discussions to early terminate the leases associated with 13 A320neo aircraft and enter into direct leases for up to 10 newer and more cost-efficient A321neo aircraft. Assuming execution of these agreements, we would expect to operate a fleet of no greater than 168 Airbus aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 2027 and remain at that level through the end of 2027. We will provide an update should formal agreements be executed. Turning to guidance, third quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from a loss of $0.10 per share to a profit of $0.10 per share at an average fuel cost of $3.70 per gallon. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from break-even to a profit of $0.20 per share at an average fuel cost of $3.45 per gallon, which would reflect the third consecutive quarter of earnings improvement. Operator, we're ready to open the line for questions. Operator Your first question comes from the line of Savi Syth with Raymond James. Please go ahead. Savanthi Syth The kind of question that I had was on the capacity growth. I think Bobby mentioned that maybe this kind of 7% capacity growth level in 4Q is kind of maybe the target level. I was wondering if you can talk a little bit about that. And it looks like you're continuing to favor maybe a higher gauge aircraft. Just any high-level thoughts on as you think about kind of medium-term growth and how you're thinking about the strategy there? James Dempsey Hi, Savi. It's Jimmy. Look, we haven't changed what we said earlier this year. We talked about somewhere between 7% and 10% capacity growth on an annualized basis over the kind of medium term. We're obviously going through a significant fleet transition at the moment, so it's quite lumpy in terms of the capacity that we have to fly versus what we want to get to. And you're also lapping quite an unproductive airline a year ago. And so if you look at capacity growth in Q3, you know, it's elevated compared to where we want it to be. We're taking advantage of an opportunity that we have to return 13 aircraft. And quite frankly, I really like the timing of it. And we return 13 aircraft in the next couple of months if we execute this deal. And then we largely don't replace the fleet until after the winter. And so we'll take the fleet down from where it is as you cross through the winter. And it does give us that plus an opportunity to retrofit the first-class seats onto the aircraft through this winter. And so you'll see our capacity dip from a growth perspective down to like 6%, 7%, 8%. We haven't really settled on it. We're working on timing. But in that range in the fourth quarter, which is a nice change from where we are in Q3, which is an 18% capacity growth. Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Yes, and just to add on, I know you were talking about the gauge. I mean, look, the growth we're talking about is asset productivity, and then there is some gauge conversation in there. We like the A321neo. We think it's the best unit cost machine in domestic flying. So we're looking at how we switch those out with some of these deals that were brought up. You're talking about an up-gauge of 29%, but the unit costs or the cost per departure are significantly less than that. So from a P&L perspective, we think that's a really great move for us. Savanthi Syth That's very helpful color. And if I just on the implications of the unit cost side, any kind of thoughts as we think about, like, the next 6 to 12 months on unit costs and how that might progress? Mark Mitchell Yes, thanks, Savi. This is Mark. Yes, so as you look at the unit cost, so we had good progression from Q1 to Q2, right? So we're still in the midst of the transition, but, you know, the substantial completion of the fleet right-sizing puts us in a good place. We're on track with our cost savings plan. So I think what you saw in Q2, which was a 12% sequential improvement, slightly higher year-over-year because of some higher maintenance activity, some transition-related items, and some incremental sales and marketing on higher revenue. As you fast forward into Q3 and Q4, what you're going to see as you look at Q3, continued progress where you're getting on our cost savings where you get a full quarter of the rent savings, you're going to see labor productivity come through. You're still in a bit of a transition on the ownership cost front, and we're still expecting some higher maintenance activity and certainly the incremental sales and marketing. And so when you put that together, you'll see progress on the plan, but some headwinds that we're working to mitigate in addition to Q3 from a year-over-year basis, lower SLB gains. And as you fast forward beyond Q3, what we're really targeting as a business, because as you look at '27 based upon our fleet plan, there's little to no sale-leaseback gains in there and we're targeting profitability in '27. And so as part of that from a unit cost perspective, getting our unit costs to trend when you adjust out the SLB to be trending favorable. James Dempsey I mean, in summary, Savi, like we're seeing real improvement in productivity in the business. Take out the noise of sale and leaseback gains, and the airline's unit costs are actually improving. And so we're pretty happy with where we're going. Operator We will move on to the next question from John Godyn with Citigroup. John Godyn I wanted to just follow up on the long-term ASM growth, Savi's first question. And maybe you guys could just speak about the drivers and the contours of that growth over multiple years in the face of what could be rising profitability. When you think about 7% versus 10%, or even being above 10% at certain times, is that a margin trigger? Is that a return trigger? You know, we may be in a period here where profitability is improving, and I think people are just trying to get a handle on the interplay of your capacity growth decisions with respect to that. James Dempsey Yes. John, I mean, look, if you look across the medium term for the airline, I mean, we established earlier this year that we wanted to have a fleet of around 170 aircraft and to keep the fleet steady over a 2-year period. And give the airline an opportunity to mature into its fleet. The airline in 2019 had 95 aircraft at the end of 2019, and it grew quite meaningfully in the next kind of 4 to 5 years. And so giving the airline an opportunity to mature into itself and improve your operational performance is really foundational to actually running a good airline. And that's what we needed to do. So establishing a stable fleet over 2 years is very, very important to me. And so that discipline around fleet is something that we've invested a huge amount of time in getting right, and we think we're moving into the right place. You then take that fleet, and you know you have an order book that runs from 2028 through to 2033. And we're trying to shape that order book and that drives growth in the airline after you get the airline back to productivity with flexibility of somewhere between 7% and 10%. I mean, if you push productivity hard, you can go above 10%. But we've got to see if that makes any sense. I think I like the idea of growing the airline in the high single-digits level in order to create a more stable revenue backdrop for the airline and to give us the ability to mature the airline without actually having an operational stress in the airline. And so, like, will it be lumpy? Yes, there's periods probably through the next five years where you may have slightly higher than 7% or 8% and there may be periods where it's down around 5% or 6% growth. But in that kind of high single digits is where I'd like to see the airline in the medium term grow from where it is today. But I look at it, I mean, the fundamental thing -- sorry, John, the fundamental thing that we're doing at the moment, rather than looking beyond 2028, is really getting the airline in a really strong condition to add -- before it adds aircraft to the fleet. John Godyn No, I think that's great. I think investors will appreciate kind of a thoughtful, disciplined message there. If I could just ask, one more on now that we have the benefit of hindsight, the sort of play-by-play in markets after the Spirit wind-down. I think I heard you guys talk about 4% capacity -- competitive capacity declines in your markets. That's a number that kind of implies to no surprise backfill maybe from other players. And maybe you could just kind of plug us into the competitive dynamic in the wake of it. Obviously you guys are benefiting considerably and doing a great job, but what's the competitive situation like? James Dempsey Look, I mean, this is the airline business in the U.S. Like the field that we play on has 4 very dominant airlines that, you know, supply over 80% of the capacity or seats in the domestic market. And so it's extremely competitive. It continues to be competitive. What has happened is structural change on the back of 2 things, right? One is Spirit started restructuring the airline meaningfully in November last year. And so they cut their meaningful capacity. We also changed the way we were managing revenue. We moved to a much more disciplined revenue management strategy around the end of the fourth quarter and into the first quarter of this year. And so those 2 things drove, like if you look at our RASM numbers going into Q1, they drove high-teen RASM improvement through the first quarter prior to Spirit's liquidation. And then obviously, on our last earnings call, we kind of laid out that we thought the removal or liquidation of Spirit would cause about a 3 to 5 point improvement in RASM. It's probably a little bit higher than that. And that allied to the ability to mitigate high oil prices has come really from that structural change that's happened in the last couple of months. But look, back to your earlier question, it's still a very competitive marketplace. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Atul Maheshwari with UBS. Atul Maheswari Okay. Awesome. Sorry, I don't know what happened there. So first question, look, I mean you'll be lapping some big RASM numbers next year and the growth plans are moderate. So given the compares from this year, are you optimistic that you can drive positive RASM-CASM-ex spread ex the SLB gains next year? And if so, what would be the key drivers of that positive spread? James Dempsey I mean, we're not guiding into next year at this point, but look, the airline is on a very, very good path. We've moved the airline back to talking about profitability towards the end of this year. And we have big investments going on into the onboard product and the operational performance of the airline. And so the introduction of Wi-Fi in early 2027, plus the rollout of our first-class seats across this winter, I think adds a significant amount of improvement in product offering and diversification in revenue that we will get in the airline. And I think that's very, very positive. And then we'll move into next year, obviously focused on unit costs. And so, you know, we're not forecasting next year, but the airline is certainly on the right trajectory to return to sustainable profitability. And that's what we're focused on today. Atul Maheswari Got it, that's helpful. And you know, as my follow-up, the average daily aircraft utilization is currently a little under 10 hours a day. Where do you see this metric over the medium term and as you approach that medium-term level versus where you are currently? Is there a way to size the CASM-ex tailwind that this might provide? James Dempsey Our objective is to get the airline to around 11, 11.5 hours of utilization. And you'll have periods in the year where it's higher than that and other periods of the year where it's lower, depending on seasonality in the business. I mean, the airline today moving through Q3, I think has a utilization rate of just over 10 hours. And so, you know, we are behind in terms of moving the airline back to a higher utilization given the spike in oil prices. We've effectively trimmed about 5 or 6 points in available capacity across the summer months to mitigate or manage through a high oil price environment. And we'll continue to be diligent in terms of how we deploy our fleet. And so I think what we're building is flexibility with an objective to get the airline to above 11 hours of utilization over the medium term. And that productivity obviously enables you to improve your unit cost output. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Scott Group with Wolfe Research. Scott Group So the -- if I look back at Q2, you guys were talking about a 20% plus RASM and it ended up, up 28%. I guess this quarter you're saying 20% plus again, like any more directional color on where you think we could end up? Maybe thinking about it this way, like the last couple of years, like RASM's picked up a little bit on an absolute basis, Q2 to Q3. Is that something that is achievable again? Just any more sort of near-term RASM color. James Dempsey Look, there's a couple of things happening. We grew the airline at a slower pace in Q2, which contributes obviously to RASM, than we're growing in Q3. We think the airline has structurally changed its revenue platform, which enables you to get to the RASM levels that we're at today. But we do have growth coming in Q3 that's lapping a very unproductive airline last year. And so sequentially, the growth level is not that dissimilar to what we should be doing seasonally as you're rolling into this portion of the year. But we think a reasonable RASM output, given the 18% growth in ASMs year-over-year, is just over 20%. And that's what we're seeing. Scott Group Makes sense. And then I just want to make sure I'm understanding your point about next year. So lapping the sale-leaseback. I don't know, what's that, like a 4 or 5 point sort of CASM headwind? Is the point you're trying to make that you think like core CASM could be down year-over-year and so like the reported CASM's up but it's not up the full 4 to 5 points of what the sale-leaseback headwind is? Is that what you're trying to say? Mark Mitchell Yes, Scott, I think as you look at, you know, call it '25, right? I mean, you had $300 million in sale-leaseback gains. And so, you know, that on the ASM basis, probably $0.07 or $0.08, right, which would have put '25 close to $0.08 on a stage-adjusted basis. And so as we look into '27, what we are expecting is that our costs are trending to be able to be roughly flat, excluding that impact. James Dempsey Look, Scott, it's dependent on growth, right, and inflation that you see across the airport world and other parts of the business. But yes, I mean, I think a CASM-ex fuel number to work off of somewhere in the mid-7s makes a lot of sense to me in the medium term. We're obviously challenging the business to get it lower than that. But I think that's a reasonable CASM ex fuel number to work on. Scott Group So, I'm just confused. I'm going to pop. So, you're saying '25 ex-gains, you were over, you were 8 plus, but you're thinking you can get that down to mid-7s. Is that... Mark Mitchell Yes, I think when you adjust for the sale-leaseback gains, like for like, you were pushing $0.08 in '25. And to Jimmy's point, as you look at '27, a reasonable target is mid-7s. James Dempsey And look, it'll be plus or minus something in the mid-7s. I mean that we haven't done our budget yet for next year. We need to look across the inflation that exists in the industry and in the model. It could be slightly higher than that, could be slightly better than that. We just have to see. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Ravi Shanker with Morgan Stanley. Ravi Shanker Just on the current environment out there, do you feel like there's still room for the consumer to accept more jet fuel price pass-throughs at industry level without seeing demand destruction? Or kind of what do you think is the current sense on elasticity? James Dempsey Ravi. I mean, I don't have a crystal ball, so it's difficult for us to predict what's going to happen in the future. I think there's been structural change in our revenue base, which I think is really positive for the airline. What we're seeing in the booking engine at the moment is 20% plus RASM improvement into Q3 with slightly slower growth in Q4 than that but the year-over-year comps get a little bit harder. So look, we think we've put a really good structural change into the business with more disciplined revenue management. And obviously the actual change in structure of the competitive capacity that's happening is a big positive for Frontier, and we're benefiting from that and that's enabling us to mitigate high oil at the moment or largely mitigate high oil. And we obviously want to get the airline back to profitability and overcome higher oil, and the volatility in price in oil is really difficult to predict as is the consumer's willingness to continue paying it. So we just don't have a crystal ball behind that. Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Bobby, I'll just add, look, the demand environment, we talked about a good demand-supply backdrop. The demand environment is strong, the fare environment is constructive. And then the demand environment isn't just strong for a fare, but for our increasingly diverse revenue base in terms of ancillary, et cetera. So there's a lot of good things that we see on the environment overall that's constructive for what you were discussing. Ravi Shanker Understood, that makes sense. And maybe as a quick follow-up, if you can give us a little more detail around the new credit card agreement and specifically around sharing any color on the thinking behind the duration of the agreement here, kind of it's great that it's a long-term agreement. But at the same time, just given changing dynamics of loyalty out there, kind of do you guys consider doing maybe a shorter agreement and getting more bites at the apple? Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Yes, I mean, I'll sit there and say, I mean, Barclays is an incredible partner for us. Frankly, you've seen the results in some of the things that we've transformed over the past year or 2, and there's a lot more to come in terms of capability to continue making our loyalty program the best loyalty program out there that people want to engage with, both on an acquisition side and the spend side. Our thought process on the length, frankly, again, we've got a partner that actually is leaning into this with us and getting us to a place where we think we can grow the overall loyalty pie by a fairly significant amount over the next few years. So we got what we wanted out of the deal. And again, we think that partnering with Barclays is the best move we could make for the next decade. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Michael Linenberg with Deutsche Bank. Michael Linenberg Just maybe to follow up on the Barclays deal, the pre-purchase mileage facility, how much -- I saw that you were able to sell $175 million this quarter. How much capacity is left on that facility before you hit the cap? Mark Mitchell So, the facility and the new agreement has a max amount of $375 million. Where we sat at the end of the quarter was roughly $120 million. So, you have plenty of runway right as we progress through the term of the agreement. Michael Linenberg Okay, great. Thanks, Mark. And then just maybe actually another question for you. Just on the sale-leaseback gains, it looked like the receipts per aircraft were down about 30%. Is that sort of 2 things. Is that the right run rate to use for the third quarter? And is that discount -- that's not a function of some sort of decline in asset values, right? That's probably more likely a function of just how the lease was restructured. Mark Mitchell Yes, so I appreciate the question. So yes, I think what you're seeing is a function of the 2 things. So one, the mix, right? So we had 2 A320s and 4 A321s. And then keep in mind, from prior expectations, one tail did slip into the third quarter. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Jamie Baker with JPMorgan Securities LLC. . Jamie Baker So, look, the industry seems to have achieved new levels of pricing power. Frontier is obviously part of that. I assume you agree with the characterization. And I suppose a good fuel crisis brings out the best in everybody's pricing department and all that good stuff. My question though is what have your lessons learned been at Frontier that you think are unique to your passenger demographics? So is it a subset of travelers that are comfortable paying higher fares? Is it a broad-based rising tide? Are you seeing travelers modify their booking behavior at all? I mean, look, obviously the goal is to assess the permanence of this, so understanding those building blocks and any nuances would be helpful. James Dempsey Yes, I mean, I think Jamie, I think it's quite simply, running a better airline operationally drives attachment from customers into the value that we provide from a pricing perspective to the customer base. I mean, we are certainly running a better operation this year. That's a meaningful change for the business where our completion factor has risen quite considerably. I think we were fourth ranked in the industry across the first 6 months of the year. I mean, that's not unnoticed by our customer base. I think some of the tools that we're using from a pure revenue management perspective improves the output that we get and the discipline that we're able to provide in terms of the fares we're offering in the system and just managing that. And look, a big portion of the improvement that we saw in Q1 is really twofold. One was revenue management, that you saw much more discipline around the deployment of bundles and bundle pricing and the ability to do that through NDC and into the OTAs. And I think that has been helpful to the business, but also pricing bundles in a more competitive fashion and creating attractiveness for the customer into our business has been beneficial to Frontier. And then you have structural change, right? And so you've had meaningful structural change across the industry that enables you to manage a higher oil price environment. So it's a lot of different things that are going on, but certainly a large part of it is our own discipline around revenue management. Jamie Baker Okay, perfect. And then just a quick follow-up, and I'll rephrase Mike's question, but a little bit more bluntly. Given a similar number of deliveries in the third quarter, is $47 million for sale-leaseback gains a reasonable number to pencil into our models? Mark Mitchell Yes, I mean, I think, yes, somewhere in that neighborhood of, yes, call it, $50 million to $60 million. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Brandon Oglenski with Barclays. Brandon Oglenski Jimmy, I guess as you look into '27, I think you said you do expect the airline to be profitable. And I understand that you want to keep the fleet flat. But is there inherent utilization capacity increases that we should be expecting next year? Is that high single-digit growth rate the right one to pencil in? James Dempsey Look, we haven't defined our plan for next year. I mean, we have the flexibility to grow the airline by high single digits if the market gives us the opportunity to. Like it really depends on what happens with the ongoing oil prices. As it stands at the moment, we would anticipate growing by somewhere between 5% and 8% next year. But we've got to go through a planning cycle and understand what we get to. We have the ability to obviously lower the productivity in the airline, but that will raise costs. And is that the right overall better answer for the airline? We prefer to get the airline back into a productive state and we are probably about 5 or 6 points behind in terms of capacity from where we would like to be because of the oil price crisis. And so you should see some growth into next year in the high single digits and we'll work from there. And look, the lower the growth, the higher the unit cost, the higher the unit revenues we have to achieve to overcome it, it's not complicated. And we understand those metrics. We just have to see what we feel about the environment as we're rolling into 2027. We feel pretty good at the moment. Brandon Oglenski Okay. And I mean, you guys have talked about first class for a while now. Starlink, I think, is a big announcement. How do you view these initiatives and new products really rolling in to results? Robert "Bobby" Schroeter How they're rolling in from a timeline perspective or how we're thinking about that? Brandon Oglenski Yes, and the potential revenue and margin upside from that. Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Yes, so from a first-class perspective, we are looking at what we've discussed before, sort of a fourth quarter rollout going into the early part of next year. On the Starlink portion, we anticipate starting in early 2027, and that rollout will continue through. We're hopeful that would complete for summer, but you could see that moving through the year a little bit longer as well. As it pertains to revenue, look, we've talked about this before. I mean, first class was born in large part by our view on UpFront Plus and the value that, that brought. The paid load factor on that is now up over 80%, which is in line generally with what you see across the industry with other airlines' premium products. So we're showcasing that frankly, that segmentation and that desire for that product from our customer base, and frankly maybe even capturing folks that wouldn't have looked at us before without that is high. And so as we progress into the first-class side, we're not necessarily giving a guide as to what we think that's worth, but we're going into it thinking that it's accretive beyond the premium products we have today. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Daniel McKenzie with Seaport Global. Daniel McKenzie One house cleaning question here, and then just a broader question. I guess for Mark. I'm curious how much cash you expect the additional lease returns to unlock and if it's included in the CapEx portion of the release today. And then if you could just remind me, would that filter through the cash flow from operations? And I'm just trying to get at the cash that could be produced by the business this year. Mark Mitchell Yes, no, absolutely. So yes, so as you're looking at the CapEx, so our CapEx guide from what we put forward last time has not changed. When you think about the transactions that we've executed, the maintenance savings that we expect, and we do expect hundreds of millions of dollars of savings as you look over the coming years, that is going to flow through operating expenses. But as you look at the balance of this year, given those returns just occurred, what we had in our CapEx plan really would have incorporated any sort of CapEx that was anticipated. So I think the right way to look at this is the go-forward. You're getting a material ownership cost benefit by the early return of these aircraft. Daniel McKenzie Yes, and then Jimmy, is it too early to talk about a return on invested capital in the medium term that exceeds the cost of capital? So just going back to an earlier question on the link between growth and profitability and what the North Star is that's behind how you're managing the company, because there's been a number of structural changes, of course, and it seems like these structural changes better position Frontier. James Dempsey Yes, Dan, I agree with you. Look, what we're doing in the airline is focusing initially on the fundamentals, right? Cost, good revenue management, putting the right fleet size in place, establishing the network to support the fleet that we have, and driving a better balance sheet and liquidity into the airline. Like we're very disciplined about those items and getting the airline on the right path from that perspective. We've got to adapt to the field that we play on. It's changed post-COVID. You have significant loyalty cash flows coming directly off credit card programs that fund a large portion of basic economy in the domestic airline business, and it's something that we're quite immature in. And so we've looked at the business in the context of our loyalty program and the immaturity of our loyalty program in comparison to the rest of the industry. And we think there's a huge opportunity for Frontier to move the dial on loyalty. But you've got to run a good operation in order to do that. You've got to invest in the operation and improve the performance of the business and enhance your product. And so we're doing all of those things, and Bobby mentioned like Wi-Fi, first-class seats. We're looking at more segmentation around premium seats in the cabin. We'll talk to you guys later on the year probably about that. But certainly it's with the purpose of bringing the airline back to sustainable profitability. And that's the real focus of the airline. We're not giving long-term targets yet in the business. What we're managing at the moment is bringing the airline back to those core fundamentals I mentioned that needs to happen in order to have a strong platform and foundation to grow the airline and have discussions around growth versus return on invested capital. But certainly that's the objective in the airline, is to get the airline back to really generating operating cash flows and cash flow production in the airline over the long-term. And so that's where we are. We've made real progress this year on doing a lot of that, but we still got a long way to go. We're probably about a year out from having an operation that we are really comfortable with. We have made real progress, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have to establish the premium products into the airline and allow those to season into the airline and get the customer base aware of those new products that we have and excited about them. But certainly we're very excited about the path we're on. Daniel McKenzie If I can just squeeze one final one in here. Just given that reference to premium products and getting those up to maturity, I'm just wondering if you can share that revenue uplift. Like what percent of revenues are they today and what would you expect that premium revenue bucket to look like, say, as a percent of total once they're up to maturity? James Dempsey I mean, we don't have Wi-Fi, first-class seats on board the aircraft at the moment. So, we don't have any revenue linked to them at the moment. So we'll come back to you in time when we launch these to give you a sense of the revenue uplift that comes into Frontier on the back of them. But you can see structural change -- you're thinking in the existing -- we don't disclose that. Robert "Bobby" Schroeter UpFront Plus, I mean, we talked about, I just stated what our paid load factor is on that above 80%, which is effectively in line with what other carriers -- legacy carriers get in their premium products, which frankly showcases the want from our customer base for premium products. That gives us the confidence to go into, for example, first class, and frankly, what Jimmy was saying, that we're reviewing additional premium seating. And those are things that, again, we'll provide more information in the coming months on, but it gives us the confidence to go and look at that. We believe there's a lot of opportunity there, not only on the revenue side, but frankly, it helps provide the products and services that different segments are looking for. And frankly, with some of these things like premium seating, Wi-Fi, et cetera, certain customer segments that our price alone wasn't able to compete for. So there is opportunity to go capture customers that we haven't been able to be in the consideration set for before with this as well. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Duane Pfennigwerth with Evercore ISI. Duane Pfennigwerth Just on the fleet, can you confirm that the fleet is basically fixed now through year-end 2027, or are there A321 lease deals that could bring you back to the table if the economics were attractive enough? James Dempsey There's always an openness within Frontier to look at lease deals if the economics make sense. Yes. But from what we see on the horizon, we think we are nearing the conclusion of some of the fleet opportunities that come. Maybe some stuff that will be available to tinker with, but I think we're largely getting to the point where we like the fleet that we have. We like the transition from the A320neo into the A321neo. It gives us flexibility around, particularly around the interior cabin of the aircraft and also, obviously, the operating cost benefit that the aircraft provides to Frontier. And so we like that mix. If more opportunities arise, we'll look at them, but as you said, Duane, the economics have to make sense. Duane Pfennigwerth Okay, thanks. And then second question, and apologies if we're geeking out on this one a little, but just curious how you define competitive capacity and specifically the set of routes. Is it essentially capacity on routes that you've served for over a year, or does it consider newer routes that you serve for less than a year? Robert "Bobby" Schroeter Yes, both. Think of it as a snapshot, so we're looking at what the network is comparatively to what our competitors within those routes within the markets specifically, and then taking that snapshot versus previous year, if we're looking at it year-over-year. Does that answer your question? Duane Pfennigwerth Okay, and if you have it, what is the like mix of new routes less than a year? Like how has that been changing and trending over time? James Dempsey Yes, I mean, as we pulled the airline down from a fleet perspective, we've added a little bit of frequency into the airline, like a modest amount of frequency into the airline. And so I think the immature markets are considerably below what they would have been historically. So historically, we may have been running somewhere between 25% and 35% immature markets or less than a year old. We're in the low teens in maturity at the moment. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Christopher Stathoulopoulos from Susquehanna International Group. Christopher Stathoulopoulos So the comment that there's been a structural change in the revenue platform for the airline, and I appreciate that. Obviously a lot going on here with segmentation, loyalty, premium products, but there's also, obviously, as you know, been a structural change here in cost as we think about the U.S. certainly here. And so as we think about the flow-through here, and this is obviously not a '26, perhaps back half of '27, '28 event, is it fair that as these initiatives mature we should think that on a per-flight segment basis or a hub basis that you're going to be in a position where these changes are ultimately ROIC accretive across the system, meaning not in markets where perhaps there are fewer competitors and different economics, more so in markets where there are larger airlines with considerably different hub or point economics? James Dempsey I think it will be a mix of markets, but certainly the objective is to invest in loyalty and premium products that actually improves the revenue output of the airline. I mean, one of the key principles that we're operating the airline under is actually improving loyalty with the objective of creating a more stable revenue base for the airline. And so product segmentation, we've seen other airlines obviously do this very successfully here and premiumization of their product. I mean, that's certainly something that we've learned from other airlines and we think that will be accretive to Frontier. Christopher Stathoulopoulos I guess I'll ask it a different way. So if I were to look at your top 25 or top 50 routes and rank order those based on your stage-length adjusted TRASM, the top quartile, let's say obviously margins are going to look better because of these revenue initiatives here, but as we move lower, should we expect a meaningful change in the margin profile, given the I guess, the cost convergence, cost harmonization, however you want to describe that dynamic as all of these initiatives start to really materialize in '27 and beyond? James Dempsey Well, Chris, we still have a meaningful cost advantage over the industry given the way we operate the airline and the focus on cost discipline within the airline. And so what we're really, if you look at it, what we're providing is incremental value to the customers at really low fares. We think that's going to be accretive, irrespective of whether it's on the top 50 or the bottom 50 routes in our network. We think the product resonates with the customer base and the product changes. You just have to look at UpFront Plus. We launched this over 2 years ago where we blocked the middle seat and the front 2 rows of the aircraft, and it has significantly increased the revenue for the real estate that exists at that part of the aircraft. And Bobby has given you an insight into the load factors that we're achieving, but those are driving significant increase in the revenue for that portion of the aircraft. And so it encourages us to do more of that, and it's not necessarily focused on specific routes. It's typically network-wide. Christopher Stathoulopoulos Okay, and just a quick follow-up here as we do our own math or bottoms-up build on FY '27 capacity. Any color you can give on how we should think about the net active fleet for next year? And then the -- I guess, if we decompose that stage gauge and departures. James Dempsey Yes, we'll have to come back to you on that. There's a lot of work going on in the background around modifying the existing fleet and aircraft coming out of service, particularly across the first quarter and the back end of this year. So look, we'll have to come back to you on what the inactive fleet would look like going into next year. But it shouldn't be that dissimilar to this year with a few lines of flying stripped out in order to facilitate the modification of the cabin. Operator We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Jimmy Dempsey for brief closing remarks. James Dempsey Yes, thanks guys for attending the call. I mean, as you can see, we're pretty happy with the direction that we're going in the business. We still have work to do to complete some of the things that we laid out earlier in the year. We're really excited about the product updates that we're bringing to the airline, particularly the introduction of high-speed Wi-Fi. We think that's a big product change for the airline and very complementary to the incremental or the addition of first-class seats. And so we're very focused on providing a very low value to our customer set. If you guys have any further questions, please do reach out to either me or the team. We'd be delighted to clarify any issues that you have and appreciate your support. Thanks very much guys. Operator This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect. 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This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Frontier (ULCC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29

Frontier Group (ULCC) Reports Q2 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Zacks
For the quarter ended June 2026, Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) reported revenue of $1.28 billion, up 37.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$0.10, compared to -$0.31 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22 billion, representing a surprise of +4.54%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +78.72%, with the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.47. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Frontier Group performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Load Factor: 80.3% versus 81.1% estimated by four analysts on average. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs): 8.92 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 8.92 billion. Fuel cost per gallon: $4.17 compared to the $4.23 average estimate based on three analysts. Total revenue per available seat mile (RASM): 11.52 cents versus 10.91 cents estimated by three analysts on average. Available seat miles (ASMs): 11.1 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 11.04 billion. Adjusted CASM (excluding fuel): 7.84 cents compared to the 8.12 cents average estimate based on three analysts. Adjusted CASM: 11.77 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 12.08 cents. Average stage length: 897.00 Miles compared to the 892.45 Miles average estimate based on two analysts. Fuel gallons consumed: 104.79 million compared to the 103.73 million average estimate based on two analysts. Adjusted CASM + net interest: 11.74 cents versus 12.11 cents estimated by two analysts on average. Operating revenues- Passenger: $1.24 billion compared to the $1.2 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +37.5% year over year. Operating revenues- Other: $44 million compared to the $37.87 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +41.9% year over year.…Read full document

For the quarter ended June 2026, Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) reported revenue of $1.28 billion, up 37.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$0.10, compared to -$0.31 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22 billion, representing a surprise of +4.54%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +78.72%, with the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.47. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Frontier Group performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Load Factor: 80.3% versus 81.1% estimated by four analysts on average. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs): 8.92 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 8.92 billion. Fuel cost per gallon: $4.17 compared to the $4.23 average estimate based on three analysts. Total revenue per available seat mile (RASM): 11.52 cents versus 10.91 cents estimated by three analysts on average. Available seat miles (ASMs): 11.1 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 11.04 billion. Adjusted CASM (excluding fuel): 7.84 cents compared to the 8.12 cents average estimate based on three analysts. Adjusted CASM: 11.77 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 12.08 cents. Average stage length: 897.00 Miles compared to the 892.45 Miles average estimate based on two analysts. Fuel gallons consumed: 104.79 million compared to the 103.73 million average estimate based on two analysts. Adjusted CASM + net interest: 11.74 cents versus 12.11 cents estimated by two analysts on average. Operating revenues- Passenger: $1.24 billion compared to the $1.2 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +37.5% year over year. Operating revenues- Other: $44 million compared to the $37.87 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +41.9% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for Frontier Group here>>> Shares of Frontier Group have returned -21.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29

Frontier Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat
Interested in Frontier Group Holdings, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Frontier’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations: Revenue reached a record $1.3 billion, up 38% year over year, while adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10 versus prior guidance for a $0.45–$0.60 loss. Management expects continued growth and improving profitability: Third-quarter capacity is projected to rise 17%–18%, with fourth-quarter growth around 7%, and the company expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2026. Fleet restructuring and financial improvements remain central to the strategy: Frontier ended the quarter with 165 aircraft, is considering replacing 13 leased A320neos with up to 10 newer A321neos, held $1.16 billion in liquidity, and remains on track for $200 million in annualized cost savings by 2027. Is the Revenge Travel Boom Starting to Fizzle Out? Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) reported second-quarter results that exceeded its prior outlook, driven by stronger revenue, more disciplined revenue management and an improved competitive capacity environment. President and Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Dempsey said the airline recorded quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, a company record and a 38% increase from a year earlier. Revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, rose 28%, while adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10, compared with the company’s previous guidance for a loss of $0.45 to $0.60 per share. → This Tiny AI Supplier Could Be More Important Than the Chipmakers “Our second quarter performance was well ahead of our earlier expectations and marks a meaningful step forward in Frontier’s transformation,” Dempsey said. He added that the company expects to return to profitability during the second half of 2026. Chief Commercial Officer Bobby Schroeter said RASM reached $0.1152 in the second quarter, while total revenue per passenger increased 20% to about $131. Flown load factor was 80.3%, up one percentage point from a year earlier, on capacity growth of 8%. → Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Schroeter attributed much of the revenue improvement to disciplined revenue management and a stronger supply-demand backdrop. He also cited Spirit’s exit from overlapping markets as a factor that has helped Frontier mitigate higher fuel prices. Frontier said its Barclays co-brand credit card partn…Read full document

Interested in Frontier Group Holdings, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Frontier’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations: Revenue reached a record $1.3 billion, up 38% year over year, while adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10 versus prior guidance for a $0.45–$0.60 loss. Management expects continued growth and improving profitability: Third-quarter capacity is projected to rise 17%–18%, with fourth-quarter growth around 7%, and the company expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2026. Fleet restructuring and financial improvements remain central to the strategy: Frontier ended the quarter with 165 aircraft, is considering replacing 13 leased A320neos with up to 10 newer A321neos, held $1.16 billion in liquidity, and remains on track for $200 million in annualized cost savings by 2027. Is the Revenge Travel Boom Starting to Fizzle Out? Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) reported second-quarter results that exceeded its prior outlook, driven by stronger revenue, more disciplined revenue management and an improved competitive capacity environment. President and Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Dempsey said the airline recorded quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, a company record and a 38% increase from a year earlier. Revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, rose 28%, while adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10, compared with the company’s previous guidance for a loss of $0.45 to $0.60 per share. → This Tiny AI Supplier Could Be More Important Than the Chipmakers “Our second quarter performance was well ahead of our earlier expectations and marks a meaningful step forward in Frontier’s transformation,” Dempsey said. He added that the company expects to return to profitability during the second half of 2026. Chief Commercial Officer Bobby Schroeter said RASM reached $0.1152 in the second quarter, while total revenue per passenger increased 20% to about $131. Flown load factor was 80.3%, up one percentage point from a year earlier, on capacity growth of 8%. → Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Schroeter attributed much of the revenue improvement to disciplined revenue management and a stronger supply-demand backdrop. He also cited Spirit’s exit from overlapping markets as a factor that has helped Frontier mitigate higher fuel prices. Frontier said its Barclays co-brand credit card partnership continued to contribute to growth. Revenue from the co-brand card increased nearly 30% year over year, supported by record card acquisitions and double-digit growth in cardholder spending during the first half. → Innovative ETF Strategies That Are Paying Off This Summer The company recently extended and enhanced its partnership with Barclays. Chief Financial Officer Mark Mitchell said the new pre-purchase mileage facility has a maximum amount of $375 million, with roughly $120 million outstanding at the end of the quarter. Management also pointed to product investments intended to broaden Frontier’s customer base and support repeat travel. The airline plans to begin rolling out first-class seating in the fourth quarter and into early 2027, while Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi is expected to begin launching in early 2027. Schroeter said the company hopes the Wi-Fi rollout will be completed before summer, though it could extend further into the year. Frontier’s existing UpFront Plus product, which provides blocked middle seats in the first two rows, had a paid load factor above 80%, according to Schroeter. Management said that performance supports its view that customers have demand for additional premium products. Dempsey said Frontier has largely completed its fleet-rightsizing work. During the second quarter, the airline returned all 24 aircraft covered by its AerCap early-return agreement. The company is also in advanced discussions to terminate leases early on 13 A320neo aircraft and replace much of that capacity through direct leases for up to 10 newer A321neo aircraft by the first quarter of 2027. Frontier said it would provide an update if formal agreements are completed. Frontier ended the quarter with 165 Airbus aircraft after taking delivery of two A320neos and four A321neos and returning the 24 A320neos under the early-return agreement. It expects to receive one A320neo and five A321neos from its Airbus order book during the third quarter. Assuming the proposed lease transactions are executed, Mitchell said Frontier expects to operate no more than 168 Airbus aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 2027 and to remain at that level through the end of 2027. Management expects fourth-quarter capacity growth of about 7%, assuming the lease transactions are completed. Dempsey said Frontier’s medium-term objective remains annual capacity growth of roughly 7% to 10%, though growth could vary by period as the airline balances aircraft productivity, operating conditions and market demand. For 2027, Dempsey said the company currently anticipates capacity growth in a range of about 5% to 8%, subject to its planning process and fuel-price conditions. He said Frontier is targeting aircraft utilization above 11 hours over the medium term, compared with just over 10 hours expected during the third quarter. Second-quarter adjusted operating expenses totaled $1.3 billion, or $0.1177 per available seat mile, including $436 million in fuel expense at an average price of $4.17 per gallon. Mitchell said fuel expense was approximately $180 million higher than indications available in early February. Adjusted operating expenses excluding fuel and the early-return agreement were $870 million, or $0.0742 per stage-adjusted available seat mile. That measure declined more than 10% sequentially as aircraft utilization increased. Frontier ended the quarter with $1.16 billion of total liquidity, representing 27% of trailing 12-month adjusted revenue. Mitchell said liquidity exceeded the company’s guidance range, helped by stronger sales, the Barclays agreement signing bonus and disciplined capital allocation. The company remains on track to deliver $200 million in targeted annualized cost savings by 2027, Dempsey said. Management also cited operational improvements, reporting a controllable completion factor of 99.3% for the first half of the year and a fourth-place ranking among domestic carriers for completion factor. Third-quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from a loss of $0.10 to a profit of $0.10, based on an average fuel cost of $3.70 per gallon. Fourth-quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from breakeven to a profit of $0.20, based on an average fuel cost of $3.45 per gallon. Third-quarter scheduled capacity is expected to rise 17% to 18% year over year, while fourth-quarter growth is projected at about 7% if the proposed fleet transactions are completed. Looking further ahead, management did not provide formal 2027 guidance but said it is focused on sustainable profitability, improved productivity, lower unit costs and more durable revenue from loyalty and premium products. Dempsey said Frontier still has work to do on its operational and product initiatives, but described the airline as being on the “right trajectory” toward sustainable profitability. Frontier Group, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ULCC, is the holding company for Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado. The company’s core business centers on providing no-frills air travel across a point-to-point network while generating ancillary revenue from add-on services such as baggage fees, seat selection, priority boarding and in-flight refreshments. This fare-plus-a-la-carte model allows Frontier to offer competitive base fares and maintain low operating costs. Founded in February 1994 by industry veterans Andrew Levy and Russell Beardsmore, Frontier Airlines commenced operations with a small fleet of MD-80 aircraft. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Frontier Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29

Frontier Airlines Delivers Record Second Quarter 2026 Revenue of $1.3 billion, up 38 percent Year-over-Year and Significantly Beats Wall Street Estimates

PR Newswire
DENVER, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ULCC), parent company of Frontier Airlines, Inc., today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2026 and issued guidance for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, and select guidance for full-year 2026. Second Quarter and Year-to-Date Select Financial Highlights The following tables summarize select financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, including both GAAP and adjusted (non-GAAP) metrics. Refer to "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Information" in the appendix of this release. Highlights: Delivered all-time record total revenue of approximately $1.3 billion, up 38 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter, reflecting strong demand and continued execution of the Company's commercial strategy Exceeded RASM guidance, with RASM increasing 28 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter to 11.52 cents on 8 percent higher capacity Maintained cost discipline while executing fleet simplification actions, with cost per available seat mile ("CASM") of 12.39 cents, including fuel expense at an average cost of $4.17 per gallon, and adjusted (non-GAAP) CASM of 7.42 cents, stage-adjusted to 1,000 miles and excluding fuel and a non-recurring charge related to the early lease termination of 24 aircraft (the "Early Return Agreement") Reported an adjusted (non-GAAP) net loss of $22 million, or $0.10 per share, excluding the Early Return Agreement, significantly better than guidance Ended the second quarter with $1.16 billion of total liquidity, above the guidance range and equal to 27 percent of trailing 12-month adjusted (non-GAAP) revenue Strengthened a key ancillary revenue platform by extending and enhancing the co-branded credit card partnership with Barclays through 2037, improving expected program economics Announced plans to launch Starlink onboard Wi-Fi in 2027, supporting the Company's ongoing efforts to enhance the customer's onboard experience Generated 106 available seat miles ("ASMs") per gallon in the second quarter of 2026, a fuel efficiency advantage of over 40 percent compared to the other major U.S. carriers1 Expanded the network across key leisure and business markets, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, Santa Ana, Fort Lauderdale, Washington Dulles, Nashville, Las Vegas, Boise and Oakland "Our transformation plan is…Read full document

DENVER, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ULCC), parent company of Frontier Airlines, Inc., today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2026 and issued guidance for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, and select guidance for full-year 2026. Second Quarter and Year-to-Date Select Financial Highlights The following tables summarize select financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, including both GAAP and adjusted (non-GAAP) metrics. Refer to "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Information" in the appendix of this release. Highlights: Delivered all-time record total revenue of approximately $1.3 billion, up 38 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter, reflecting strong demand and continued execution of the Company's commercial strategy Exceeded RASM guidance, with RASM increasing 28 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter to 11.52 cents on 8 percent higher capacity Maintained cost discipline while executing fleet simplification actions, with cost per available seat mile ("CASM") of 12.39 cents, including fuel expense at an average cost of $4.17 per gallon, and adjusted (non-GAAP) CASM of 7.42 cents, stage-adjusted to 1,000 miles and excluding fuel and a non-recurring charge related to the early lease termination of 24 aircraft (the "Early Return Agreement") Reported an adjusted (non-GAAP) net loss of $22 million, or $0.10 per share, excluding the Early Return Agreement, significantly better than guidance Ended the second quarter with $1.16 billion of total liquidity, above the guidance range and equal to 27 percent of trailing 12-month adjusted (non-GAAP) revenue Strengthened a key ancillary revenue platform by extending and enhancing the co-branded credit card partnership with Barclays through 2037, improving expected program economics Announced plans to launch Starlink onboard Wi-Fi in 2027, supporting the Company's ongoing efforts to enhance the customer's onboard experience Generated 106 available seat miles ("ASMs") per gallon in the second quarter of 2026, a fuel efficiency advantage of over 40 percent compared to the other major U.S. carriers1 Expanded the network across key leisure and business markets, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, Santa Ana, Fort Lauderdale, Washington Dulles, Nashville, Las Vegas, Boise and Oakland "Our transformation plan is delivering meaningful results, reflecting our team's relentless focus on execution. The strength of our second quarter revenue performance is a testament to the momentum we are building through our commercial initiatives, product investments and loyalty enhancements, as well as the continued resilience of the demand environment," said Jimmy Dempsey, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As a result of this progress, we expect RASM to increase over 20 percent in the third quarter year-over-year, which would be our third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. We are pleased to see macro conditions remain strong and I'm confident we have the right plan in place to restore sustainable earnings growth for the long term." Revenue and Cost Performance Revenue was approximately $1.3 billion, an all-time Company record, driven by strong travel demand, favorable competitive capacity and the continued progression of the Company's revenue management initiatives. ASMs were 11.1 billion, 8 percent higher compared to the corresponding 2025 quarter on an average stage length of 897 miles. RASM increased 28 percent over the corresponding 2025 quarter to 11.52 cents, significantly above the guidance range. Flown load factor was approximately one percentage point higher at 80.3 percent. Total adjusted operating expenses were approximately $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026, or 11.77 cents per ASM, including $436 million of fuel expense at an average cost of $4.17 per gallon. Total adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expenses - excluding fuel and the Early Return Agreement - were $870 million, or 7.42 cents per ASM, stage-adjusted to 1,000 miles. Liquidity Total liquidity as of June 30, 2026 was $1.16 billion, consisting of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and availability from the Company's revolving credit facility, representing 27 percent of trailing 12-month adjusted (non-GAAP) revenue. Fleet As of June 30, 2026, Frontier had a fleet of 165 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, as scheduled below, all financed through operating leases that expire between 2027 and 2038. Frontier took delivery of two A320neo aircraft and four A321neo aircraft during the second quarter of 2026, and returned 24 A320neo aircraft pursuant to the Early Return Agreement. The delivery of one A321neo aircraft, originally scheduled for the second quarter of 2026, was postponed by Airbus to the third quarter. The Company expects to take delivery of six A320 family aircraft in the third quarter 2026, including five A321neo aircraft and one A320neo aircraft. Frontier is "America's Greenest Airline," producing 106 ASMs per gallon in the second quarter of 2026 and delivering a fuel-efficiency advantage of more than 40 percent versus the other major U.S. carriers1, as measured by available seat miles per fuel gallon consumed. Starlink On July 14, 2026, Frontier announced plans to transform its onboard experience by introducing Starlink, the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky. Engineered by SpaceX, Starlink delivers an unparalleled broadband experience in flight, with high-speed, low-latency Wi-Fi capable of HD streaming, online gaming, productivity and more. The Company plans to launch its first Starlink-equipped aircraft by early 2027 and will be the first US airline to offer passengers access to Starlink's high-speed internet through a new system managed directly by Starlink. Beyond enhancing the customer experience, Starlink will provide gate-to-gate connectivity for Frontier's pilots, flight attendants, maintenance teams, and ground operations, enabling improved operational performance and more seamless customer service. Forward Guidance The guidance provided below is based on the Company's current estimates and is not a guarantee of future performance. This guidance is subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's reports on file with the SEC. Frontier undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements or estimates, except as required by applicable law. Further, this guidance excludes special items and the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP measures because such amounts cannot be determined at this time. Adjusted (non-GAAP) diluted earnings per share guidance for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, as noted below, reflects continued progress across key commercial initiatives, underpinned by favorable competitive capacity and strong travel demand, while elevated fuel prices continue to be a cost headwind. Third quarter capacity is expected to increase 17 to 18 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter, partially a function of lapping unproductive aircraft in the corresponding 2025 quarter, or 2 to 3 percent sequentially. Fourth quarter capacity is expected to increase approximately 7 percent versus the corresponding 2025 quarter. _________________ Conference Call The Company will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2026 results today, July 29, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (USA). Investors may listen to a live, listen-only webcast available on the investor relations section of the Company's website at https://ir.flyfrontier.com/news-and-events/events. The call will also be archived and available for at least 90 days on the investor relations section of the Company's website. About Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc., a subsidiary of Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULCC), is a value-focused airline operating one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the United States. With a growing network and continued investment in product upgrades, including the introduction of First Class seating, onboard Wi-Fi and enhanced loyalty benefits, Frontier is giving customers more comfort, flexibility, and rewards while keeping fares low. End Notes 1 Industry average weighted by ASMs in FY2025 to include DAL, UAL, AAL, LUV, JBLU, ALK, and ALGT. Fuel efficiency is measured by ASMs per fuel gallon consumed. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information Certain statements in this release should be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to the Company on the date of this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's operations and business environment including, without limitation, the following: unfavorable economic and political conditions in the states where the Company operates and globally, including tariffs and other trade protection measures, an inflationary environment and potential recession, weakened demand environment, and the resulting impact on cost inputs and/or consumer demand for air travel; the highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity; disruptions to the Company's flight operations, including due to factors beyond the Company's control, such as adverse weather events or air traffic controller staffing shortages and facility and infrastructure constraints (including as a result of federal government shutdowns); the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel at reasonable costs; high and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel, including as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East; the Company's reliance on technology and automated systems to operate its business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, the technology or systems; the Company's reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in the Company's relationships with these providers or their provision of services; adverse publicity and/or harm to the Company's brand or reputation; reduced travel demand and potential tort liability as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving the Company, its codeshare partners or another airline; terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events, or the fear of terrorist attacks or hostilities, even if not made directly on the airline industry; increasing privacy and data security obligations or a significant data breach; further changes to the airline industry with respect to alliances and joint business arrangements or due to consolidations; changes in the Company's network strategy or other factors outside its control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into less favorable aircraft orders; the Company's reliance on a single supplier for its aircraft and two suppliers for its engines, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers; expanded inspection programs and/or heightened maintenance requirements imposed on the Company's aircraft or engines; the impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions on the Company's operations; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where the Company operates; the impacts of seasonality and other factors associated with the airline industry; the Company's failure to realize the full value of its intangible assets or its long-lived assets, causing the Company to record impairments; the costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry; costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change; the Company's inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into the Company's fleet as planned; the impacts of the Company's significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations, the possibility the Company may seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term and the impacts of insufficient liquidity on the Company's financial condition and business; failure to comply with the covenants in the Company's financing agreements or failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing the Company's other debt; changes in, or failure to retain, the Company's senior management team or other key employees; current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or arrangement relating to these actions; increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage; and other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time under sections captioned "Risk Factors" in the Company's reports and other documents filed with the SEC, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, which was filed with the SEC on February 18, 2026. __________________ ____________________ Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Information The Company is providing below a reconciliation of GAAP financial information to the non-GAAP financial information provided. The non-GAAP financial information is included to provide supplemental disclosures because the Company believes they are useful additional indicators of, among other things, its operating and cost performance. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. Because of these limitations, determinations of the Company's operating performance, RASM or CASM excluding unrealized gains and losses, special items or other items should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures may be presented on a different basis than other companies using similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures. ____________________ __________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ ______________________ ____________________ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frontier-airlines-delivers-record-second-quarter-2026-revenue-of-1-3-billion-up-38-percent-year-over-year-and-significantly-beats-wall-street-estimates-302837329.html

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29

Frontier Group: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — DENVER (AP) — Frontier Group Holdings Inc. (ULCC) on Wednesday reported a loss of $90 million in its second quarter. On a per-share basis, the Denver-based company said it had a loss of 39 cents. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 10 cents per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 47 cents per share. The discount airline posted revenue of $1.28 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.22 billion. For the current quarter ending in September, Frontier Group expects its results to range from a loss of 10 cents per share to earnings of 10 cents per share. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ULCC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ULCC

TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-07-29

FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript

Earnings source - 135 paragraphs
Operator

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Frontier Group Holdings second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to David Erdman, Senior Director of Investor Relations. David, please go ahead.

David Erdman

Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me this morning in speaking order are Jimmy Dempsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Schroeter, Chief Commercial Officer, and Mark Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer. Each will deliver brief prepared remarks, and then we'll open the call for questions. Before we begin, however, I will remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties, and we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations can be found in the earnings release issued earlier today and on our investor relations website. We also will be referencing stage-adjusted unit metrics, which are based on a conversion to 1,000 miles. I'll turn the call over to Jimmy to begin his prepared remarks. Jimmy?

Jimmy Dempsey

Thanks, David. Good morning, everyone. Our second quarter performance was well ahead of our earlier expectations and marks a meaningful step forward in Frontier's transformation. The progress we've delivered this quarter validates the actions we have taken to strengthen the airline and position the business for sustained profitability. I'm incredibly proud of the focus, urgency, and execution across Team Frontier as we continue advancing the plan we announced in February. Adjusted loss per share narrowed to $0.10 compared to our original guidance range of a loss of $0.45-$0.60 per share, with top-line performance the primary factor. We delivered an all-time company record for quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, up 38% year-over-year, with RASM up 28%, augmented by strong travel demand, the continued progression of our revenue management initiatives, and a more favorable competitive capacity backdrop.

Jimmy Dempsey

We ended the quarter with liquidity of $1.16 billion, further strengthening our balance sheet and giving us added flexibility as we execute against our transformation priorities. Across the business, the team has been executing with discipline and momentum against the four priorities we set out in February: rightsizing our fleet, strengthening cost discipline, improving operational reliability, and deepening customer loyalty. Beginning with fleet rightsizing, this work is now largely complete and is creating a more efficient, more productive platform for the future. In the second quarter, we returned all 24 aircraft under the AerCap agreement. Moreover, we are in advanced discussions to early terminate leases associated with 13 A320neo aircraft in the coming months and substantially replace that capacity with direct leases for up to 10 newer and more cost-efficient A321neo aircraft by the first quarter of 2027, facilitating slower capacity growth in Q4 of approximately 7%.

Jimmy Dempsey

On cost discipline, we are seeing clear benefits from the actions we have taken to bring productivity back into the airline and remain on track to deliver $200 million of targeted annual run rate cost savings by 2027. Operational reliability also continued to improve, supported by a system-wide maintenance strategy that is contributing to stronger completion factor and on-time performance. For the first half of the year, Frontier ranked fourth among domestic carriers in completion factor and delivered a controllable completion factor of 99.3%. As demonstrated by today's results, customer loyalty and revenue management are gaining momentum. In late June, we extended and improved our Barclays co-brand credit card partnership. I'm pleased we recently announced the fleet-wide rollout of Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi. We expect it to launch in early 2027.

Jimmy Dempsey

The introduction of Wi-Fi, in conjunction with first-class seating, significantly enhances our onboard experience and it reinforces our overarching commitment to delivering meaningful value to customers while maintaining industry-leading fares. In conclusion, we are focused on strengthening the fundamentals of our business and segmenting our revenue base to meet customer expectations. We have real momentum, and I'm confident in the path ahead for Frontier. As noted in our guidance update, we anticipate returning the airline to profitability in the second half of the year. With that, I'll turn the call over to Bobby to walk through the commercial update.

Bobby Schroeter

Thanks, Jimmy. RASM came in at $0.1152, 28% higher year-over-year. The vast majority of the increase is a reflection of more disciplined revenue management alongside an improved overall supply-demand backdrop, which is further enhanced by Spirit's exit from overlapping markets. These factors are allowing us to substantially mitigate higher fuel prices. Total revenue per passenger rose 20% to approximately $131 on flown load factor of 80.3%, up a point on capacity that was 8% higher. Loyalty continues to be one of our fastest-growing, highest margin revenue streams, and the second quarter reinforced the strength of that platform. For example, the revenue contribution from the Barclays co-brand card increased nearly 30% year-over-year, supported by record co-brand card acquisition activity and continued double-digit growth in cardholder spends through the first half of the year, reflecting the customer's recognition of the value we are delivering in the program.

Bobby Schroeter

Customer loyalty is increasingly tied to what we deliver on board as well. With our upcoming first-class product and the Starlink rollout Jimmy mentioned, we will be delivering a meaningfully better in-flight experience, one that gives the customers who fly us today more reason to come back, and it puts Frontier in play for customers our fares alone haven't reached. That's what converts a one-time booking into a repeat customer and a repeat customer into a cardholder. As we layer in first class, Starlink Wi-Fi, and additional loyalty enhancements, we are building a more durable, increasingly diversified revenue base while preserving the cost discipline that defines Frontier's model.

Bobby Schroeter

Domestic capacity in the third quarter is scheduled to be flat year-over-year, while competitive capacity is down over four points. Our third quarter scheduled capacity is expected to increase 2%-3% sequentially and 17%-18% year-over-year as we continue to normalize productivity and seize the unique opportunity to backfill lost capacity in the high-value carrier space. Fourth quarter growth, assuming execution of the deals that Jimmy mentioned previously, is expected to be approximately 7% year-over-year, more in line with our long-term growth targets. With that, I'll now turn it over the call to Mark.

Mark Mitchell

Thanks, Bobby. Total adjusted operating expenses in the second quarter were $1.3 billion or $0.1177 per ASM, including $436 million of fuel expense at an average cost of $4.17 per gallon, approximately $180 million higher compared to forward indications from early February. Total adjusted operating expenses, excluding fuel and the early return agreement, were $870 million or $0.0742 per ASM stage adjusted, reflecting a sequential decline of over 10% on higher aircraft utilization. Second quarter adjusted net loss was $22 million, $0.10 per share, significantly favorable to our expected guidance range of a $0.45-$0.60 loss. The beat was driven by stronger than expected revenue performance and disciplined cost management. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $1.16 billion, significantly above our guidance range, representing 27% of trailing 12-month adjusted revenue.

Mark Mitchell

The increase during the quarter was supported by stronger sales than expected, the signing bonus received in connection with the Barclays amendment, which was slightly above expectations, and disciplined capital allocation. We ended the quarter with 165 Airbus aircraft, having taken delivery of two A320neos and four A321neos, and returning all 24 A320neos pursuant to the early return agreement. During the third quarter, we expect to take delivery of one additional A320neo and five A321neos from our Airbus order book. As Jimmy mentioned, we are in advanced discussions to early terminate the leases associated with 13 A320neo aircraft and enter into direct leases for up to 10 newer and more cost-efficient A321neo aircraft.

Mark Mitchell

Assuming execution of these agreements, we would expect to operate a fleet of no greater than 168 Airbus aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 2027 and remain at that level through the end of 2027. We will provide an update should formal agreements be executed. Turning to guidance. Third quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from a loss of $0.10 per share to a profit of $0.10 per share at an average fuel cost of $3.70 per gallon. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range from breakeven to a profit of $0.20 per share at an average fuel cost of $3.45 per gallon, which would reflect the third consecutive quarter of earnings improvement. Operator, we're ready to open the line for questions.

Operator

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Savanthi Syth with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Savanthi Syth

Hey, good morning, everyone. The question that I had was on the capacity growth. I think Bobby mentioned that maybe this kind of 7% level in 4Q is maybe the target level. I was wondering if you can talk a little bit about that, and it looks like you're continuing to favor maybe a higher-gauge aircraft. Just any high-level thoughts on as you think about medium-term growth and how you're thinking about the strategy there?

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. Hi, Savi. It's Jimmy. Look, we haven't changed what we said earlier this year. We talked about somewhere between 7% and 10% capacity growth on an annualized basis over the medium term. It's quite lumpy in terms of the capacity that we have to fly versus what we want to get to. You're also lapping quite an unproductive airline a year ago. If you look at capacity growth in Q3, it's elevated compared to where we want it to be. We're taking advantage of an opportunity that we have to return 13 aircraft. Quite frankly, I really like the timing of it. We return 13 aircraft in the next couple of months if we execute this deal. We largely don't replace the fleet until after the winter.

Jimmy Dempsey

We'll take the fleet down from where it is as you cross through the winter. It does give us that, plus an opportunity to retrofit the first-class seats onto the aircraft through this winter. You'll see our capacity dip from a growth perspective down to like 6%, 7%, 8%. We haven't really settled on it. We're working on timing. In that range in the fourth quarter, which is a nice change from where we are in Q3, which is an 18% capacity growth.

Bobby Schroeter

Yeah, just to add on, I know you were talking about the gauge. Look, the growth we're talking about is asset productivity, and then there is some gauge conversation in there. We like the A321neo. We think it's the best unit cost machine in domestic flying. We're looking at how we switch those out with some of these deals that were brought up. You're talking about an upgauge of 29%, but the unit costs, or the cost per departure are significantly less than that. From a P&L perspective, we think that's a really great move for us.

Savanthi Syth

That's a very helpful color. If I just, on the implications of the unit cost side, any kind of thoughts as we think about the next 6-12 months on unit cost and how that might progress?

Mark Mitchell

Thanks, Savi. This is Mark. As you look at the unit cost, we had good progression from Q1 to Q2. We're still in the midst of the transition, but the substantial completion of the fleet rightsizing puts us in a good place. We're on track with our cost savings plan. I think what you saw in Q2, which was a 12% sequential improvement, slightly higher year-over-year because of some higher maintenance activity, some transition-related items, and some incremental sales and marketing on higher revenue. As you fast-forward into Q3 and Q4, what you're going to see, as you look at Q3, continued progress where you're getting on our cost savings, where you get a full quarter of the rent savings. You're going to see labor productivity come through.

Mark Mitchell

You're still in a bit of a transition on the ownership cost front, and we're still expecting some higher maintenance activity and certainly the incremental sales and marketing. When you put that together, you'll see progress on the plan, but some headwinds that we're working to mitigate. In addition to Q3 from a year-over-year basis, lower SLB gains. As you fast-forward beyond Q3, what we're really targeting as a business, because as you look at 2027, based upon our fleet plan, there's little to no sale-leaseback gains in there, and we're targeting profitability in 2027. As part of that, from a unit cost perspective, getting our unit costs to trend when you adjust out the SLB, to be trending favorable.

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah, in summary, Savi, we're seeing real improvement in productivity in the business. Take out the noise of sale-leaseback gains, the airline's unit costs are actually improving. So we're pretty happy where we're going.

Savanthi Syth

Appreciate the color. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Atul Maheswari with UBS. Please go ahead. Atul, a reminder to please unmute yourself locally. We will move on to the next question from John Godyn with Citigroup. John, your line is open. Please go ahead.

John Godyn

Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my question. I wanted to just follow up on the long-term ASM growth, Savi's first question, maybe you guys could just speak about the drivers and the contours of that growth over multiple years in the face of what could be rising profitability. When you think about 7% versus 10% or even being above 10% at certain times, is that a margin trigger? Is that a return trigger? We may be in a period here where profitability is improving, I think people are just trying to get a handle on the interplay of your capacity growth decisions with respect to that.

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. Hi, John. Look, if you look across the medium term for the airline, we established earlier this year that we wanted to have a fleet of aircraft around 170 aircraft, and to keep the fleet steady over a two-year period and give the airline an opportunity to mature into its fleet. The airline in 2019 had 95 aircraft at the end of 2019. It grew quite meaningfully in the next four to five years. Giving the airline an opportunity to mature into itself, and improve your operational performance is really foundational to actually running a good airline, and that's what we needed to do. Establishing a stable fleet over two years is very, very important to me. That discipline around fleet is something that we've invested a huge amount of time in getting right, and we think we're moving into the right place.

Jimmy Dempsey

You then take that fleet, and you know you have an order book that runs from 2028 through to 2033. We're trying to shape that order book that drives growth in the airline after you get the airline back to productivity of somewhere with, I suppose, with flexibility of somewhere between 7% and 10%. If you push productivity hard, you can go above 10%, but we've got to see if that makes any sense. I think I like the idea of growing the airline in the high single digits level in order to create a more stable revenue backdrop for the airline, and to give us the ability to mature the airline without actually having an operational stress in the airline. Will it be lumpy?

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah, there's periods probably through the next five years where you may have slightly higher than 7% or 8%, and there'll be maybe periods where it's down around 5% or 6% growth. In that kind of high single digits is where I'd like to see the airline in the medium term grow from where it is today. Look, John, the fundamental thing that we're doing at the moment, rather than looking beyond 2028, is really getting the airline in a really strong condition before it adds aircraft to the fleet.

John Godyn

No, I think that's great. I think investors will appreciate kind of a thoughtful, disciplined message there. If I could just ask one more on, now that we have the benefit of hindsight, the sort of play-by-play in markets after the Spirit wind down. I think I heard you guys talk about 4% competitive capacity declines in your markets. That's a number that kind of implies, to no surprise, backfill maybe from other players. Maybe you could just kind of plug us into the competitive dynamic in the wake of it. Obviously, you guys are benefiting considerably and doing a great job. What's the competitive situation like?

Jimmy Dempsey

Look, this is the airline business in the U.S. The field that we play on has four very predominant airlines that supply over 80% of the capacity or seats in the domestic market. It's extremely competitive. It continues to be competitive. What has happened is structural change on the back of two things, right? One is Spirit started restructuring the airline meaningfully in November last year. They cut a meaningful capacity. We also changed the way we were managing revenue. We moved to a much more disciplined revenue management strategy around the end of the fourth quarter and into the first quarter of this year. Those two things drove, like if you look at our RASM numbers going into Q1, they drove high teen RASM improvement through the first quarter prior to Spirit's liquidation.

Jimmy Dempsey

Obviously, on our last earnings call, we kind of laid out that we thought the removal or liquidation of Spirit would cause about a three- to five-point improvement in RASM. It's probably a little bit higher than that. Look, back to your earlier question, it's still a very competitive marketplace.

John Godyn

Appreciate the thoughts. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Atul Maheswari with UBS. Atul, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Atul Maheswari

Good morning. Are you guys able to hear me?

Jimmy Dempsey

Yes.

Mark Mitchell

Yes.

Jimmy Dempsey

Morning.

Atul Maheswari

Okay, awesome. Thank you. Sorry, don't know what happened there. First question. Look, you'll be lapping some big RASM numbers next year, and the growth plans are moderate. Given the compares from this year, are you optimistic that you can drive positive RASM, CASM, ex spread, ex SLB gains next year? If so, what would be the key drivers of that positive spread?

Jimmy Dempsey

Morning, Atul. We're not guiding into next year at this point. Look, the airline is on a very good path. We've moved the airline back to talking about profitability towards the end of this year. We have big investments going on into the onboard product, and the operational performance of the airline. The introduction of Wi-Fi in early 2027, plus the rollout of our first-class seats across this winter, I think adds a significant amount of improvement in product offering and diversification in revenue that we will get in the airline. I think that's very positive. We'll move into next year, obviously focused on unit costs. We're not forecasting next year, but the airline is certainly on the right trajectory to return to sustainable profitability. That's what we're focused on today.

Atul Maheswari

Got it. That's helpful. As my follow-up, the average daily aircraft utilization is currently a little under 10 hours a day. Where do you see this metric over the medium term? As you approach that medium term level versus where you are currently, is there a way to size the CASM ex tailwind that this might provide?

Jimmy Dempsey

Our objective is to get the airline to around 11.5 hours of utilization. You'll have periods in the year where it's higher than that and other periods of the year where it's lower, depending on seasonality in the business. The airline today, moving through Q3, I think, has a utilization rate of just over 10 hours. We are behind in terms of moving the airline back to a higher utilization given the spike in oil prices. We've effectively trimmed about five or six points in available capacity across the summer months to mitigate or manage through a high oil price environment. We'll continue to be diligent in terms of how we deploy our fleet. I think what we're building is flexibility with an objective to get the airline to above 11 hours of utilization over the medium term.

Jimmy Dempsey

That productivity obviously enables you to improve your unit cost output.

Atul Maheswari

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Scott Group with Wolfe Research. Scott, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Scott Group

Hey, thanks. Good morning. If I look back at Q2, you guys were talking about a 20%+ RASM, and it ended up 28%. I guess this quarter you're saying 20%+ again. Any more directional color on where you think we could end up? Maybe thinking about it this way, the last couple of years, RASM's picked up a little bit on an absolute basis, Q2 to Q3. Is that something that is achievable again? Just any more sort of near term RASM color?

Jimmy Dempsey

Look, there's a couple of things happening. We grew the airline at a slower pace in Q2, which contributes obviously to RASM. We're growing in Q3. We think the airline is structurally changed, its revenue platform, which enables you to get to the RASM levels that we're at today. We do have growth coming in Q3 that's lapping a very unproductive airline last year. Sequentially, the growth level is not that dissimilar to what we should be doing seasonally as you're rolling into this portion of the year. We think a reasonable RASM output, given the 18% growth in ASMs year-over-year, is just over 20%.

Scott Group

Okay.

Jimmy Dempsey

That's what we're seeing in the system.

Scott Group

Makes sense. I just want to make sure I'm understanding your point about next year. Lapping the sale-leaseback, I don't know, what's that? Like a four or five point sort of CASM headwind. Is the point you're trying to make that you think core CASM could be down year-over-year, and the reported CASM's up, but it's not up the full 4 to 5 points of what the sale-leaseback headwind is? Is that what you're trying to say?

Mark Mitchell

Scott, I think as you look at call it 2025, you had $300 million in sale-leaseback gains, so that on the ASM base was probably $0.70 or $0.80, which would have put 2025 close to $0.08 on a stage adjusted basis. As we look into 2027, what we are expecting is that our costs are trending to be able to be roughly flat, excluding that impact.

Jimmy Dempsey

Look, Scott, it's dependent on growth and inflation that you see across the airport world and other parts of the business. I think a CASM ex-fuel number to work off of somewhere in the mid-$0.07s makes a lot of sense to me in the medium term. We're obviously challenging the business to get it lower than that. I think that's a reasonable CASM ex-fuel number to work off.

Scott Group

Sorry, I'm just confused. You're saying 2025 ex-gains, you were $0.08+, you're thinking you can get that down to mid-$0.07s. Is that

Mark Mitchell

Yes. I think when you adjust for the sale-leaseback gains, like for like, you were pushing $0.08 in 2025. To Jimmy's point, as you look at 2027, a reasonable target is mid-$0.07s.

Jimmy Dempsey

Look, it'll be ± something in the mid-$0.07s. We haven't done our budget yet for next year. We need to look across the inflation that exists in the industry and in the model. It could be slightly higher than that, could be slightly better than that. We'll just have to see.

Scott Group

Thank you.

Jimmy Dempsey

Okay.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Ravi Shanker with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Ravi Shanker

Great, thanks. Morning, guys. Just on the current environment out there, do you feel like there's still room for the consumer to accept more jet fuel price pass-throughs at an industry level without seeing demand destruction? What do you think is the current sense on elasticity?

Jimmy Dempsey

Hi, Ravi. I don't have a crystal ball, it's difficult for us to predict what's going to happen in the future. I think there's been structural change in our revenue base, which I think is really positive for the airline. What we're seeing in the booking engine at the moment is 20%+ RASM improvement into Q3. With slightly slower growth in Q4 than that. The year-over-year comps get a little bit harder. Look, we think we've put a really good structural change into the business with more disciplined revenue management. Obviously, the actual change in structure of the competitive capacity that's happening is a big positive for Frontier, and we're benefiting from that. That's enabling us to mitigate high oil at the moment, or largely mitigate high oil. We obviously want to get the airline back to profitability and overcome higher oil.

Jimmy Dempsey

The volatility in price in oil is really difficult to predict, as is the consumer's willingness to continue paying it. We really just don't have a crystal ball behind that.

Bobby Schroeter

This is Bobby. I'll just add, look, the demand environment, we talked about a good demand supply backdrop. The demand environment is strong. The fare environment is constructive. The demand environment isn't just strong for a fare, but for our increasingly diverse revenue base in terms of ancillary, et cetera. There's a lot of good things that we see in the environment overall that's constructive for what you were discussing.

Ravi Shanker

Understood. That makes sense. Maybe a quick follow-up, if you can give us a little more detail around the new credit card agreement, and specifically around sharing any color on the thinking behind the duration of the agreement here. It's great that it's a long-term agreement, at the same time, just given changing dynamics of loyalty out there, do you guys consider doing maybe a shorter agreement and getting more bites of the apple? Thank you.

Bobby Schroeter

Yeah. I'll sit there and say, Barclays is an incredible partner for us. Frankly, you've seen the results and some of the things that we've transformed over the past year or two, and there's a lot more to come in terms of capability to continue making our loyalty program the best loyalty program out there that people want to engage with, both on an acquisition side and a spend side. Our thought process on the length, frankly, again, we've got a partner that actually is leaning into this with us and getting us to a place where we think we can grow the overall loyalty pie by a fairly significant amount over the next few years. We got what we wanted out of the deal. Again, we think that partnering with Barclays is the best move we could make for the next decade.

Ravi Shanker

Very good. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Linenberg with Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Michael Linenberg

Oh, hey. Good morning, everyone. Just maybe to follow up on the Barclays deal, the pre-purchase mileage facility, I saw that you were able to sell $175 million this quarter. How much capacity is left on that facility before you hit the cap?

Mark Mitchell

The facility, in the new agreement, has a max amount of $375 million.

Mark Mitchell

Where we sat at the end of the quarter was roughly $120 million. You have plenty of runway as we progress through the term of the agreement.

Michael Linenberg

Okay, great. Thanks, Mark. Just maybe actually another question for you. Just on the sale-leaseback gains, it looked like the receipts per aircraft were down about 30%. Sort of two things, is that the right run rate to use for the third quarter? That's not a function of some sort of decline in asset values, right? That's probably more likely a function of just how the lease was restructured? Thanks for taking my question.

Mark Mitchell

Yeah. No, I appreciate the question. Yeah, I think what you're seeing is a function of two things. One, the mix. We had two A320s and four A321s. Keep in mind, from prior expectations, one tail did slip into the third quarter.

Michael Linenberg

Okay, thanks.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Jamie Baker with JPMorgan Securities LLC. Jamie, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Jamie Baker

Thanks, operator, good morning, everybody. Look, the industry seems to have achieved new levels of pricing power. Frontier is obviously part of that. I assume you agree with the characterization, I suppose a good fuel crisis brings out the best in everybody's pricing department and all that good stuff. My question, though, is what have your lessons learned been at Frontier that you think are unique to your passenger demographics? Is it a subset of travelers that are comfortable paying higher fares? Is it a broad-based rising tide? Are you seeing travelers modify their booking behavior at all? Look, obviously the goal is to assess the permanence of this, understanding those building blocks and any nuances would be helpful.

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. Jamie, I think it's quite simply, running a better airline operationally drives attachment from customers into the value that we provide from a pricing perspective to the customer base. We are certainly running a better operation this year. That's a meaningful change for the business, where our completion factor has risen quite considerably. I think we were fourth ranked in the industry across the first six months of the year. That's not unnoticed by our customer base. I think some of our tools that we're using from a pure revenue management perspective improves the output that we get and the discipline that we're able to provide in terms of the fares we're offering in the system and just managing that. Look, a big portion of the improvement that we saw in Q1 is really twofold.

Jimmy Dempsey

One was revenue management, that you saw much more discipline around the deployment of bundles and bundle pricing and the ability to do that through NDC and into the OTAs. I think that has been helpful to the business. Also pricing bundles in a more competitive fashion and creating attractiveness for the customer into our business has been beneficial to Frontier. You have structural change. You've had meaningful structural change across the industry that enables you to manage a higher oil price environment. It's a lot of different things that are going on, but certainly a large part of it is our own discipline around revenue management.

Jamie Baker

Okay, perfect. Just a quick follow-up, and I'll rephrase Mike's question, but a little bit more bluntly. Given a similar number of deliveries in the third quarter, is $47 million for sale-leaseback gains a reasonable number to pencil into our model?

Mark Mitchell

Yeah. I think somewhere in that neighborhood of, call it $50 million-$60 million.

Jamie Baker

Okay, perfect. All right. Thank you very much.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Brandon Oglenski with Barclays. Brandon, please go ahead.

Brandon Oglenski

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. Jimmy, I guess as you look into 2027, I think you said you do expect the airline to be profitable, and I understand that you want to keep the fleet flat. Is there inherent utilization capacity increases that we should be expecting next year? Is that high single-digit growth rate the right one to pencil in?

Jimmy Dempsey

Look, we haven't defined our plan for next year. We have the flexibility to grow the airline by high single digit if the market gives us the opportunity to. It really depends on what happens with the ongoing oil prices. As it stands at the moment, we would anticipate growing by somewhere between 5%-8% next year. We've got to go through a planning cycle and understand what we get to. We have the ability to obviously lower the productivity in the airline, but that will raise costs, and is that the right overall better answer for the airline? We'd prefer to get the airline back into a productive state, and we're probably about five or six points behind in terms of capacity from where we'd like to be because of the oil price crisis.

Jimmy Dempsey

You should see some growth into next year in the high single digits, and we'll work from there. Look, the lower the growth, the higher the unit cost, the higher the unit revenues we have to achieve to overcome it. It's not complicated. We understand those metrics. We just have to see what we feel about the environment as we're rolling into 2027. We feel pretty good at the moment.

Brandon Oglenski

Okay. You guys have talked about first class for a while now. Starlink, I think, is a big announcement. How do you view these initiatives and new products really rolling into result?

Bobby Schroeter

How they're rolling in from a timeline perspective or how we're thinking-

Brandon Oglenski

Yeah, the potential revenue and margin upside from them.

Bobby Schroeter

Yeah. From a first-class perspective, we are looking at what we've discussed before, starting in a fourth-quarter rollout, going into the early part of next year. On the Starlink portion, we anticipate starting in early 2027, and that rollout will continue through. We're hopeful that would complete before summer, but you could see that moving through the year a little bit longer as well. As it pertains to revenue, look, we've talked about this before. First class was born in large part by our view on UpFront Plus and the value that that brought. The paid load factor on that is now up over 80%, which is in line generally with what you see across the industry with other airlines' premium products.

Bobby Schroeter

We're showcasing that, frankly, that segmentation and that desire for that product from our customer base and frankly, maybe even capturing folks that wouldn't have looked at us before without that is high. As we progress into the first class side, we're not necessarily giving a guide as to what we think that's worth, but we're going into it thinking that it's accretive beyond the premium products we have today.

Brandon Oglenski

Thank you for that.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Daniel McKenzie with Seaport Global. Daniel, please go ahead.

Daniel McKenzie

Oh, hey. Good morning. Thanks. One housecleaning question here, then just a broader question. I guess for Mark, I'm curious how much cash you expect the additional lease returns to unlock, and if it's included in the CapEx portion of the release today. Then if you could just remind me, would that filter through to cash flow from operations? I'm just trying to get at the cash that could be produced by the business this year.

Mark Mitchell

Yeah. No, absolutely. As you're looking at the CapEx, our CapEx guide from what we had put forward last time has not changed. When you think about the transactions that we've executed, the maintenance savings that we expect, and we do expect hundreds of millions of dollars of savings as you look over the coming years, that is going to flow through operating expenses. As you look at the balance of this year, given those returns just occurred, what we had in our CapEx plan really would have incorporated any sort of CapEx that was anticipated. I think that the right way to look at this is the go forward. You're getting a material ownership cost benefit by the early return of these aircraft.

Daniel McKenzie

Jimmy, is it too early to talk about a return on invested capital in the medium term that exceeds the cost of capital? Just going back to an earlier question on the link between growth and profitability and what the North Star is that's behind how you're managing the company. There's been a number of structural changes, of course, and it seems like these structural changes better position Frontier.

Jimmy Dempsey

Dan, I agree with you. Look, what we're doing in the airline is focusing initially on the fundamentals, right? Cost, good revenue management, putting the right fleet size in place, establishing the network to support the fleet that we have, and driving a better balance sheet and liquidity into the airline. We're very disciplined about those items and getting the airline on the right path from that perspective. We've got to adapt to the field that we play on. It's changed post-COVID. You have significant loyalty cash flows coming directly off credit card programs that fund a large portion of basic economy in the domestic airline business, and it's something that we're quite immature in.

Jimmy Dempsey

We've looked at the business in the context of our loyalty program and the immaturity of our loyalty program in comparison to the rest of the industry, and we think there's a huge opportunity for Frontier to move the dial on loyalty. You've got to run a good operation in order to do that. You've got to invest in the operation and improve the performance of the business and enhance your product. We're doing all of those things, and Bobby mentioned like Wi-Fi, first-class seats. We're looking at more segmentation around premium seats in the cabin. We'll talk to you guys later on in the year probably about that. Certainly, it's with the purpose of bringing the airline back to sustainable profitability, and that's the real focus of the airline. We're not giving long-term targets yet in the business.

Jimmy Dempsey

What we're managing at the moment is bringing the airline back to those core fundamentals I mentioned. That needs to happen in order to have a strong platform and foundation to grow the airline and have discussions around growth versus return on invested capital. Certainly that's the objective in the airline, is to get the airline back to really generating operating cash flows and cash flow production in the airline over the long term. That's where we are. We've made real progress this year on doing a lot of that, but we've still got a long way to go. Like I said.

Daniel McKenzie

No, I appreciate the.

Jimmy Dempsey

We're probably about a year out from having an operation that we are really comfortable with. We've made real progress, but we've still got a lot of work to do. We've got to establish the premium products into the airline and allow those to season into the airline, and get the customer base aware of those new products that we have and excited about them. Certainly we're very excited about the path we're on.

Daniel McKenzie

Yeah. Thank you for that. If I can just squeeze one final one in here. Just given that reference to premium products and getting those up to maturity, I'm just wondering if you can share that revenue uplift. What percent of revenues are they today, and what would you expect that premium revenue bucket to look like at, say, as a percent of total, once they're up to maturity?

Jimmy Dempsey

We don't have Wi-Fi, first-class seats on board the aircraft at the moment. We don't have any revenue linked to them at the moment. We'll come back to you in time when we launch these to give you a sense of the revenue uplift that comes into Frontier on the back of them. You can see.

Daniel McKenzie

Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was thinking.

Jimmy Dempsey

structural change in the. You're thinking the existing. We don't disclose that.

Daniel McKenzie

Yeah, like Economy Plus, for example. Yeah.

Bobby Schroeter

UpFront Plus. I stated what our paid load factor is on that above 80%, which is effectively in line with what other legacy carriers get on their premium products, which frankly showcases the want from our customer base for premium products. That gives us the confidence to go into, for example, first class, and frankly, what Jimmy was saying, that we're reviewing additional premium seating and those are things that, again, we'll provide more information in the coming months on, but it gives us the confidence to go and look at that. We believe there's a lot of opportunity there, not only on the revenue side, but frankly, it helps provide the products and services that different segments are looking for. Frankly, with some of these things like premium seating, Wi-Fi, et cetera, certain customer segments that our price alone wasn't able to compete for.

Bobby Schroeter

There is opportunity to go capture customers that we haven't been able to be in the consideration set for before with this as well.

Daniel McKenzie

Thanks so much for the time, you guys.

Jimmy Dempsey

Thanks, Dan.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Duane Pfennigwerth with Evercore ISI. Duane, please go ahead.

Duane Pfennigwerth

Hey, thanks, Jimmy and Team. Just on the fleet, can you confirm that the fleet is basically fixed now through year-end 2027? Are there A321 lease deals that could bring you back to the table if the economics were attractive enough?

Jimmy Dempsey

There's always an openness within Frontier to look at lease deals if the economics make sense. Yes. From what we see on the horizon, we think we are nearing the conclusion of some of the fleet opportunities that come. Maybe some stuff that will be available to tinker with, but I think we're largely getting to the point where we like the fleet that we have We like the transition from the A320neo into the A321neo. It gives us flexibility, particularly around the interior cabin of the aircraft and also obviously the operating cost benefit that the aircraft provides to Frontier. So we like that mix. If more opportunities arise, we'll look at them. As you said, Duane, the economics have to make sense.

Duane Pfennigwerth

Okay, thanks. Second question, and apologies if we're geeking out on this one a little, but just curious how you define competitive capacity and specifically the set of routes. Is it essentially capacity on routes that you've served for over a year, or does it consider newer routes that you serve for less than a year?

Jimmy Dempsey

Both.

Bobby Schroeter

Yeah, both.

Jimmy Dempsey

Both.

Duane Pfennigwerth

Maybe just remind us what that is.

Bobby Schroeter

Think of it as a snapshot. We're looking at what the network is comparatively to what our competitors within those routes, within the markets specifically, taking that snapshot versus previous year, if we're looking at it year-over-year.

Duane Pfennigwerth

Okay.

Bobby Schroeter

Does that answer your question?

Duane Pfennigwerth

It does. If you have it, what is the mix of new routes less than a year? How has that been changing and trending over time?

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. As we pulled the airline down from a fleet perspective, we've added a little bit of frequency into the airline, like a modest amount of frequency into the airline. I think the immature markets are considerably below what they would've been historically. Historically, we may have been running somewhere between 25% and 35% immature markets, so less than a year old. We're in the low teens immaturity at the moment.

Duane Pfennigwerth

Okay, great. Thank you.

Jimmy Dempsey

Thanks.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Stathoulopoulos from Susquehanna International Group. Chris, please go ahead.

Chris Stathoulopoulos

Good morning, everyone. The comment that there's been a structural change in the revenue platform for the airline, and I appreciate that. Obviously, a lot going on here with segmentation loyalty premium products. There's also, obviously, as you know, been a structural change here in cost as we think about the U.S. certainly here. As we think about the flow-through here, and this is obviously not a 2026, perhaps 2020, back half of 2027, 2028 event, is it fair that as these initiatives mature, we should think that on a per flight segment basis or a hub basis, that you're going to be in a position where these changes are ultimately accretive across the system, meaning not in markets where perhaps there are fewer competitors in different economics, more so in markets where there are larger airlines with considerably different hub or point economics?

Jimmy Dempsey

I think it'll be a mix of markets. Certainly the objective is to invest in loyalty and premium products. To invest in loyalty and premium products that actually improves the revenue output of the airline. One of the key principles that we're operating the airline under is actually improving loyalty with the objective of creating a more stable revenue base for the airline. Product segmentation, we've seen other airlines obviously do this very successfully here, and premiumization of their product. That's certainly something that we've learned from other airlines, and we think that that will be accretive to Frontier.

Chris Stathoulopoulos

I guess I'll ask it a different way. If I were to look at your top 25 or top 50 routes and rank order those based on your stage-length-adjusted TRASM, the top quartile, let's say, obviously margins are going to look better because of these revenue initiatives here, but as we move lower, should we expect a meaningful change in the margin profile given the, I guess, the cost convergence, cost harmonization, however you want to describe that dynamic as all of these initiatives start to really materialize in 2027 and beyond. Thank you.

Jimmy Dempsey

Well, Chris, we'll still have a meaningful cost advantage over the industry given the way we operate the airline and the focus on cost discipline within the airline. If you look at it, what we're providing is incremental value to the customers at really low fares. We think that's going to be accretive, irrespective of whether it's on the top 50 or the bottom 50 routes in our network. We think the product resonates with the customer base and the product changes, and you just have to look at UpFront Plus, right? We launched this over two years ago, where we blocked the middle seat and the front two rows of the aircraft, and it has significantly increased the revenue for the real estate that exists at that part of the aircraft.

Jimmy Dempsey

Bobby has given you an insight into the load factors that we're achieving, those are driving a significant increase in the revenue for that portion of the aircraft. It encourages us to do more of that. It's not necessarily focused on specific routes. It's typically network wide.

Chris Stathoulopoulos

Okay. As a quick follow-up here, as we do our own math, our bottoms-up build on FY 2027 capacity, any color you can give on how we should think about the net active fleet for next year? I guess if we decompose that stage gauge and departures. Thank you.

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. We'll have to come back to you on that. There's a lot of work going on in the background around modifying the existing fleet and aircraft coming out of service, particularly across the first quarter and the back end of this year. Look, we'll have to come back to you on what the inactive fleet would look like going into next year.

Chris Stathoulopoulos

Okay. Thank you.

Jimmy Dempsey

It shouldn't be that dissimilar to this year, with a few lines of flying stripped out in order to facilitate the modification of the cabin.

Chris Stathoulopoulos

Okay.

Jimmy Dempsey

We'll come back.

Operator

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Jimmy Dempsey for brief closing remarks.

Jimmy Dempsey

Yeah. Thanks, guys, for attending the call. As you can see, we're pretty happy with the direction that we're going in in the business. We still have work to do to complete some of the things that we laid out earlier in the year. We're really excited about the product updates that we're bringing to the airline, particularly the introduction of high-speed Wi-Fi. We think that's a big product change for the airline and very complementary to the incremental or the addition of first-class seats. Look, we're very focused on providing a very low value to our customer set. If you guys have any further questions, please do reach out to either me or the team. We'd be delighted to clarify any issues that you have, and appreciate your support. Thanks very much, guys.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-28

Frontier (ULCC) To Report Earnings Tomorrow: Here Is What To Expect

StockStory
Ultra low-cost airline Frontier Group Holdings (NASDAQ:ULCC) will be reporting results this Wednesday before market open. Here’s what you need to know. Frontier beat analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $1.07 billion, up 16.8% year on year. It was a satisfactory quarter for the company, with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Is Frontier a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Frontier’s revenue to grow 31.6% year on year, a reversal from the 4.5% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Frontier has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Frontier’s peers in the consumer discretionary - travel and vacation providers segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Delta delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 18.7%, beating analysts’ expectations by 3.9%, and Travel + Leisure reported revenues up 4.4%, topping estimates by 1.6%. Delta traded down 3.2% following the results while Travel + Leisure’s stock price was unchanged. Read our full analysis of Delta’s results here and Travel + Leisure’s results here. In the last year or so, investors have shifted their focus from one macro dynamic to the next (AI disintermediation and AI investment to geopolitical conflict, interest rates, and the health of the wider economy). While some of the consumer discretionary - travel and vacation providers stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2% on average over the last month. Frontier is down 18.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $6.67 (compared to the current share price of $6.10). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company process…Read full document

Ultra low-cost airline Frontier Group Holdings (NASDAQ:ULCC) will be reporting results this Wednesday before market open. Here’s what you need to know. Frontier beat analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $1.07 billion, up 16.8% year on year. It was a satisfactory quarter for the company, with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Is Frontier a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Frontier’s revenue to grow 31.6% year on year, a reversal from the 4.5% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Frontier has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Frontier’s peers in the consumer discretionary - travel and vacation providers segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Delta delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 18.7%, beating analysts’ expectations by 3.9%, and Travel + Leisure reported revenues up 4.4%, topping estimates by 1.6%. Delta traded down 3.2% following the results while Travel + Leisure’s stock price was unchanged. Read our full analysis of Delta’s results here and Travel + Leisure’s results here. In the last year or so, investors have shifted their focus from one macro dynamic to the next (AI disintermediation and AI investment to geopolitical conflict, interest rates, and the health of the wider economy). While some of the consumer discretionary - travel and vacation providers stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2% on average over the last month. Frontier is down 18.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $6.67 (compared to the current share price of $6.10). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-22

Frontier Group Holdings Announces Webcast of Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

PR Newswire

DENVER, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULCC), parent company of Frontier Airlines, Inc., will be releasing its second quarter 2026 financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Management will host a live webcast with analysts to discuss these results the same day at 11:00am ET. The webcast will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at http://ir.flyfrontier.com. A replay of the call will be archived on the company's Investor Relations website for 30 days. About Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc., a subsidiary of Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULCC), is a value-focused airline operating one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the United States. With a growing network and continued investment in product upgrades, including the introduction of First Class seating, onboard Wi-Fi and enhanced loyalty benefits, Frontier is giving customers more comfort, flexibility, and rewards while keeping fares low. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frontier-group-holdings-announces-webcast-of-second-quarter-2026-financial-results-302831258.html

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-23

Citi Lifts PT on Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) Following Fiscal Q1 Results

Insider Monkey

Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC) is one of the best airline stocks to buy according to Reddit. Citi lifted the price target on Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC) to $5 from $4.90 on May 14, maintaining a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated the company’s model after the release of its fiscal Q1 report on May 5. Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC) reported that adjusted revenue was nearly $1.1 billion, marking an all-time company record and up 17% on one percent lower capacity compared to the corresponding 2025 quarter. Furthermore, adjusted RASM, stage-length adjusted to 1,000 miles, came up to 10.29 cents, 17% higher compared to the corresponding 2025 quarter and at the higher end of the guidance range. Management reported that the company generated 106 available seat miles per gallon in the first quarter of 2026, a fuel efficiency advantage of over 40% compared to the other major U.S. carriers. Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC) also executed the previously announced agreements with Airbus to defer the delivery of 69 future A320 family aircraft and with AerCap to early terminate the leases associated with 24 A320neo aircraft. Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC) is a holding company that operates through its subsidiary, Frontier Airlines, Inc., an ultra-low-cost carrier company. It offers flights throughout the United States and to select near international destinations in the Americas. While we acknowledge the potential of ULCC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years AND 12 Best Stocks That Will Always Grow. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-06

Frontier Group Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat
Frontier says the Spirit shutdown "meaningfully alters the supply landscape" and is adding service on former Spirit routes, has built roughly two points of Q2 guidance tied to the event, and expects a 3%–5% run-rate RASM uplift; management guides Q2 RASM >20% YoY (stage-adjusted RASM in the high teens) on ~6%–8% capacity growth. The airline reported record adjusted revenue of nearly $1.1 billion in Q1 with stage-length adjusted RASM up 17% YoY and load factor around 78%, while posting an adjusted net loss of $68 million (adj. EPS -$0.30) that beat guidance. Frontier is pursuing fleet "rightsizing"—69 Airbus deferrals and 24 lease terminations—targeting $200 million of annual run-rate cost savings by 2027, cut 2026 capex by $30 million, and finished the quarter with nearly $1 billion of liquidity. Interested in Frontier Group Holdings, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Is the Revenge Travel Boom Starting to Fizzle Out? Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) used its first-quarter 2026 earnings call to outline record adjusted revenue, progress on a fleet “rightsizing” plan, and the company’s expectations for stronger unit revenue in the second quarter, while also addressing the near-term market disruption caused by Spirit’s shutdown. President and CEO Jimmy Dempsey opened the call by addressing Spirit’s cessation of operations, calling it a meaningful event in an industry dominated by four large carriers. Dempsey said Frontier offered discounted fares over the weekend to help impacted customers on more than 100 Spirit routes and extended travel benefits to help Spirit team members return home, while encouraging them to apply for open roles at Frontier. → Roblox Stock Slides to New Low as Safety Changes Weigh on Outlook “Spirit’s exit meaningfully alters the supply landscape,” Dempsey said, adding that Frontier believes its network, low-cost structure, and “disciplined approach to capacity deployment” position it to provide low fares in affected markets. Dempsey said Frontier will expand service this summer with “nine additional routes plus 15 daily departures across 18 former Spirit routes,” including Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, and Detroit. → The Real SpaceX Play: 5 Chip Stocks Powering the IPO Before It Launches Frontier reported adjusted revenue of nearly $1.1 billion, which management described as a company record. The company sa…Read full document

Frontier says the Spirit shutdown "meaningfully alters the supply landscape" and is adding service on former Spirit routes, has built roughly two points of Q2 guidance tied to the event, and expects a 3%–5% run-rate RASM uplift; management guides Q2 RASM >20% YoY (stage-adjusted RASM in the high teens) on ~6%–8% capacity growth. The airline reported record adjusted revenue of nearly $1.1 billion in Q1 with stage-length adjusted RASM up 17% YoY and load factor around 78%, while posting an adjusted net loss of $68 million (adj. EPS -$0.30) that beat guidance. Frontier is pursuing fleet "rightsizing"—69 Airbus deferrals and 24 lease terminations—targeting $200 million of annual run-rate cost savings by 2027, cut 2026 capex by $30 million, and finished the quarter with nearly $1 billion of liquidity. Interested in Frontier Group Holdings, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Is the Revenge Travel Boom Starting to Fizzle Out? Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) used its first-quarter 2026 earnings call to outline record adjusted revenue, progress on a fleet “rightsizing” plan, and the company’s expectations for stronger unit revenue in the second quarter, while also addressing the near-term market disruption caused by Spirit’s shutdown. President and CEO Jimmy Dempsey opened the call by addressing Spirit’s cessation of operations, calling it a meaningful event in an industry dominated by four large carriers. Dempsey said Frontier offered discounted fares over the weekend to help impacted customers on more than 100 Spirit routes and extended travel benefits to help Spirit team members return home, while encouraging them to apply for open roles at Frontier. → Roblox Stock Slides to New Low as Safety Changes Weigh on Outlook “Spirit’s exit meaningfully alters the supply landscape,” Dempsey said, adding that Frontier believes its network, low-cost structure, and “disciplined approach to capacity deployment” position it to provide low fares in affected markets. Dempsey said Frontier will expand service this summer with “nine additional routes plus 15 daily departures across 18 former Spirit routes,” including Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, and Detroit. → The Real SpaceX Play: 5 Chip Stocks Powering the IPO Before It Launches Frontier reported adjusted revenue of nearly $1.1 billion, which management described as a company record. The company said stage-length adjusted RASM increased 17% year-over-year, and Dempsey said the performance resulted in an EPS guidance beat despite higher fuel prices. In additional prepared remarks, the company said total adjusted revenue per passenger rose 10% year-over-year to roughly $128, supported by an approximately four-point increase in flown load factor to about 78%. Management noted the quarter included operational disruptions from severe winter weather and TSA delays during spring break travel. → 3 Emerging Markets ETFs to Maximize Exposure to High-Potential Countries Chief Financial Officer Mark Mitchell reported total adjusted operating expenses of $1.1 billion in the quarter, including $268 million of fuel expense at an average cost of $2.88 per gallon. Adjusted non-fuel operating expenses were $868 million, or $0.0885 per ASM. Mitchell attributed the year-over-year increase in non-fuel costs primarily to lower average daily aircraft utilization and higher fleet-related costs “across reduced capacity.” Mitchell said Frontier posted an adjusted pre-tax loss of $69 million and an adjusted net loss of $68 million, resulting in an adjusted loss per share of $0.30, which he said was favorable to guidance. Dempsey reiterated four strategic priorities: rightsizing the fleet, strengthening cost discipline, improving operational reliability, and building customer loyalty. Fleet rightsizing: Dempsey said Frontier executed previously announced “69 aircraft deferrals with Airbus” and “24 lease terminations with AerCap,” expecting all 24 aircraft to leave the fleet by early June. Mitchell added that after seven aircraft inductions in Q1 (one more than expected), the airline expects seven more deliveries in Q2 and the return of 24 aircraft. Cost discipline: Dempsey said the company remains on track to deliver $200 million of targeted annual run-rate cost savings by 2027, citing rent reductions, network optimization, and productivity benefits. Operational reliability: Dempsey said Frontier launched a systemwide maintenance strategy to improve planning and reliability, reduced unscheduled out-of-service events, and is enhancing airport operations, including simplified ticket counters and improved turn times. He said that for April year-to-date, Frontier ranked fourth among major domestic carriers in completion factor. Loyalty and product: Dempsey said loyalty programs grew more than 30% in Q1, the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Management also highlighted record co-brand card acquisitions in February and March, and said March card spend was an all-time monthly high. Frontier reiterated plans to introduce first class seating and Wi-Fi service. Chief Commercial Officer Bobby Schroeder said first-class installations will occur during the second half of the year, while Wi-Fi vendor selection is nearing completion and installations are expected to begin in 2027. Management emphasized elevated fuel prices and the airline’s efforts to raise fares and ancillary revenue. Dempsey said Frontier anticipates recapturing roughly 35% to 45% of the fuel price increase in the second quarter, with an expectation that recovery improves as the year progresses. For Q2, the company expects RASM to increase by more than 20% year-over-year and stage-adjusted RASM to rise in the high teens, on capacity growth of approximately 7%. Schroeder said the guidance is supported by “durable demand trends” and lower competitive capacity on Frontier routes. He also said the company has participated in five broad industry fare actions since early March, which he described as a signal that demand at higher fares remains resilient. On the impact from Spirit’s shutdown, Schroeder said Frontier has more route overlap with Spirit in Q2 2026 than any other U.S. carrier and expects that dynamic to support revenue. Dempsey told analysts that Frontier’s estimated 3% to 5% run-rate RASM uplift is based on historical experience when Spirit reduced or exited routes. For Q2 specifically, he said Frontier has built roughly “two points of improvement” into guidance tied to Spirit’s shutdown, given the quarter is already partly complete from a booking perspective. Frontier said second-quarter capacity is expected to be up 6% to 8% year-over-year on an average stage length of about 890 miles, with reductions concentrated in long-haul flying. Dempsey said the company continues to see off-peak performance improving and suggested the airline may “redeploy some capacity opportunistically” in June after cutting too much earlier, while remaining willing to trim capacity further as part of liquidity preservation and fuel management. Mitchell said Frontier has not provided specific Q2 CASM-ex guidance, but pointed to “$139 million of non-recurring charges” in rent, maintenance, and depreciation tied to early aircraft returns, and said the company expects a meaningful reduction in adjusted non-fuel unit costs as utilization increases and cost savings materialize. Frontier ended March with $974 million of liquidity, including unrestricted cash and revolver availability. Dempsey said liquidity was “nearly $1 billion” at quarter-end and the company expects liquidity between $900 million and $950 million at the end of Q2. Mitchell said that outlook is supported by internal liquidity measures, including fleet-related activity and “advanced discussions” related to extending the co-brand credit card agreement. Mitchell also said Frontier lowered full-year 2026 capital spending guidance by $30 million and reaffirmed expectations for a $170 million to $210 million reduction in its pre-delivery deposit balance tied to the agreement to defer 69 Airbus aircraft, with a similar reduction expected in related PDP financing facility balances. Regarding lease termination costs, Mitchell referenced a previously disclosed total charge range and said the updated range is “$212 million-$239 million,” with the cash component ($75 million-$95 million) expected to be paid “largely in 2028 and 2029.” Management said it will provide full-year EPS guidance once visibility improves given fuel volatility. Frontier Group, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ULCC, is the holding company for Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado. The company’s core business centers on providing no-frills air travel across a point-to-point network while generating ancillary revenue from add-on services such as baggage fees, seat selection, priority boarding and in-flight refreshments. This fare-plus-a-la-carte model allows Frontier to offer competitive base fares and maintain low operating costs. Founded in February 1994 by industry veterans Andrew Levy and Russell Beardsmore, Frontier Airlines commenced operations with a small fleet of MD-80 aircraft. The article "Frontier Group Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-05

Compared to Estimates, Frontier Group (ULCC) Q1 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics

Zacks
Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) reported $992 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.8%. EPS of -$0.30 for the same period compares to -$0.19 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -5.02% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.37, the EPS surprise was +18.92%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Frontier Group performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Load Factor: 78.4% compared to the 78.7% average estimate based on four analysts. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs): 7.69 billion versus 7.79 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Fuel cost per gallon: $2.88 versus $2.99 estimated by three analysts on average. Total revenue per available seat mile (RASM): 10.11 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 10.66 cents. Available seat miles (ASMs): 9.81 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 9.82 billion. Adjusted CASM (excluding fuel): 8.85 cents versus 8.75 cents estimated by three analysts on average. Adjusted CASM: 11.58 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 11.54 cents. Average stage length: 899.00 Miles compared to the 895.94 Miles average estimate based on two analysts. Fuel gallons consumed: 92.96 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of 91.66 million. Adjusted CASM + net interest: 11.56 cents versus the two-analyst average estimate of 11.54 cents. Operating revenues- Passenger: $952 million compared to the $1.02 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +7.7% year over year. Operating revenues- Other: $40 million versus $34.42 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +42.9% change. View all Key Company Metrics for Frontier Group here>>> Shares of Fron…Read full document

Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) reported $992 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.8%. EPS of -$0.30 for the same period compares to -$0.19 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -5.02% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.37, the EPS surprise was +18.92%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Frontier Group performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Load Factor: 78.4% compared to the 78.7% average estimate based on four analysts. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs): 7.69 billion versus 7.79 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Fuel cost per gallon: $2.88 versus $2.99 estimated by three analysts on average. Total revenue per available seat mile (RASM): 10.11 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 10.66 cents. Available seat miles (ASMs): 9.81 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of 9.82 billion. Adjusted CASM (excluding fuel): 8.85 cents versus 8.75 cents estimated by three analysts on average. Adjusted CASM: 11.58 cents versus the three-analyst average estimate of 11.54 cents. Average stage length: 899.00 Miles compared to the 895.94 Miles average estimate based on two analysts. Fuel gallons consumed: 92.96 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of 91.66 million. Adjusted CASM + net interest: 11.56 cents versus the two-analyst average estimate of 11.54 cents. Operating revenues- Passenger: $952 million compared to the $1.02 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +7.7% year over year. Operating revenues- Other: $40 million versus $34.42 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +42.9% change. View all Key Company Metrics for Frontier Group here>>> Shares of Frontier Group have returned +14.6% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +9.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

As of 2026-08-15 • Updated weeklySource: Earnings sourceIngestion runbook