JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) Just Released Its Third-Quarter Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Estimates

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 9.6% to US$4.13 in the week after its latest third-quarter results. The results look positive overall; while revenues of US$2.3b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory losses were 3.8% smaller than expected, with JetBlue Airways losing US$0.39 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

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After the latest results, the 13 analysts covering JetBlue Airways are now predicting revenues of US$9.80b in 2026. If met, this would reflect a modest 7.8% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 38% to US$0.81. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$9.69b and US$0.81 per share in losses.

See our latest analysis for JetBlue Airways

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$4.54, suggesting that the business - losses and all - is executing in line with estimates. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. There are some variant perceptions on JetBlue Airways, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$8.00 and the most bearish at US$3.00 per share. We would probably assign less value to the analyst forecasts in this situation, because such a wide range of estimates could imply that the future of this business is difficult to value accurately. As a result it might not be a great idea to make decisions based on the consensus price target, which is after all just an average of this wide range of estimates.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that JetBlue Airways' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 6.2% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 18% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than JetBlue Airways.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for JetBlue Airways going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for JetBlue Airways that you should be aware of.

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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.