Ryanair Earnings Came Ahead of Estimates in Q3, Revenues Up Y/Y

Ryanair Holdings plc (RYAAY) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Dec. 31, 2025) earnings of 26 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 18 cents but declined on a year-over-year basis. Revenues of $3.74 billion marginally fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.1% but increased 18.5% year over year. The top line benefited from solid October school mid-term and close-in Christmas/New Year bookings.

Traffic grew 6% year over year to 47.5 million passengers during the reported quarter. The load factor of 92% remained flat on a year-over-year basis. Average fares were up 4% year over year.

Operating costs grew 6% year over year, owing to higher air traffic control (ATC) fares and environmental costs. This was partially offset by fuel hedge savings.

Ryanair Holdings PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ryanair Holdings PLC price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ryanair Holdings PLC Quote

RYAAY now anticipates its fiscal 2026 traffic to grow 4% to almost 208 million passengers (prior view: 207 million), owing to solid demand and earlier than expected Boeing deliveries. Unit cost inflation is expected to remain modest during fiscal 2026 as the B-8200 deliveries, fuel hedging and effective cost control should help offset increased ATC charges, higher environmental costs and the roll-off of last year's delivery delay compensation.

Although RYAAY’s fourth quarter does not benefit from Easter, fares are trending above prior-year levels. As a result, full-year fares are likely to surpass the previously guided ranges. RYAAY is expecting fiscal 2026 profit after tax (pre-exceptional) in the range of €2.13bn to €2.23bn, although the final fiscal 2026 outcome remains exposed to adverse external developments in the fourth quarter, rising conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, macro-economic shocks and any further impact of repeated European ATC strikes & mismanagement.

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

Q4 Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines DAL reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 31 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.55 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53. Earnings decreased 16.22% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.

Revenues in the December-end quarter were $16 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.63 billion and increasing 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1.2% year over year to $14.6 billion. Revenue growth was impacted by about 2 points due to the government shutdown, mainly in the domestic segment, consistent with the company's disclosure last month.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.90 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81 and improved 24.2% year over year.

Total operating revenues of $3.09 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 billion and were down 1.6% year over year. JBHT’s fourth-quarter revenue performance was hurt by a 2% and 4% decline in revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a 1% decrease in average trucks in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), and a 7% and 2% decline in load volume in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and JBI, respectively. The decrease in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, was partially offset by a 15% increase in volume in JBT, a 1% uptick in productivity, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, in DCS, and an increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased 2% year over year.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported solid fourth-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

UAL's fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (excluding 9 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.10 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.98 but declined 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $3.00-$3.50.

Operating revenues of $15.4 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate marginally by 0.1% and increased 4.8% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.4% of the top line) increased 4.9% year over year to $13.9 billion. UAL flights transported 45,679 passengers in the fourth quarter, up 3% year over year.

Cargo revenues fell 6% year over year to $490 million. Revenues from other sources rose 9.1% year over year to $981 million.

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

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