Here's Why Investors Should Bet on Ryanair Stock for Now

By Zacks Equity Research | May 21, 2025, 10:49 AM

Ryanair RYAAY is bolstered by its solid demand, boosting the company’s prospects. The robust traffic initiative is also commendable. Due to these tailwinds, SKYW shares have performed impressively on the bourse. If you have not taken advantage of its share price appreciation yet, it’s time to do so.

Let’s delve deeper.

Upsides for Ryanair

Northward Earnings Estimate Revision: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has been revised upward by 7.4% over the past 60 days for the current quarter. For 2025, the consensus mark for earnings per share has moved 7.7% north in the same time frame. The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ confidence in the stock.

Robust Price Performance: A look at the company’s price trend reveals that its shares have risen 35.2% over the past year, surpassing the  Zacks Transportation – Airline industry’s 11.5% growth.

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Positive Earnings Surprise History: RYAAY has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in the remaining, delivering an average surprise of 46.7%.

Solid Zacks Rank: Ryanair currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Growth Factors: Ryanair’s passenger traffic reached a record $218 million, up 9% year over year, demonstrating robust demand and Ryanair’s ability to capture market share. The airline maintained a high load factor of 94%, indicating efficient capacity utilization and sustained customer demand across its network.

Despite a 7% reduction in average fares, Ryanair still achieved a 4% increase in total revenues to $15.17 billion, showcasing strong ancillary revenue performance and effective network expansion. The ability to grow traffic and revenues in a lower fare environment reflects Ryanair’s competitive cost structure and appeal to price-sensitive travelers. These factors, along with Ryanair’s disciplined capacity management and significant scale advantages, position the airline strongly to sustain growth in both passenger volume and profitability as market conditions stabilize.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may also consider SkyWest SKYW and Copa Holdings CPA.

SKYW currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

SKYW has an expected earnings growth rate of 19.4% for the current year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 17.1%. Shares of SKYW have risen 2.5% year to date.

CPA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CPA has an expected earnings growth rate of 13% for the current year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 5.5%. Shares of CPA have risen 18.1% year to date.

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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW): Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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