Alaska Air Group swings to a third-quarter loss and now expects a full-year adjusted loss of up to $5.50 a share

Alaska Air Group swung to a third-quarter loss as fuel costs soared, and the airline now expects to lose money on an adjusted basis for the full year.

The company reported a GAAP net loss of $147 million, or $1.32 a share, compared with net income of $73 million, or $0.62 a diluted share, a year earlier, according to its earnings release filed with an 8-K on Tuesday. Revenue rose 14% to $4.31 billion from $3.77 billion on 2.4% more capacity.

Aircraft fuel expense jumped 60% to $1.21 billion from $761 million. Economic fuel cost was $3.94 a gallon, above the $3.75 the company had expected.

The tax hit

On an adjusted basis, Alaska lost $35 million, or 31 cents a share. The company cut its estimated annual tax rate after its full-year outlook flipped from a pretax profit to a pretax loss, mainly because of high fuel prices. The resulting catch-up adjustment reduced adjusted EPS by 67 cents.

Excluding certain tax impacts, adjusted earnings were 36 cents a share, inside its prior range of zero to $1.00.

"While we're not satisfied with this quarter's result or the $1.8 billion fuel headwind this year, we are confident in our ability to execute on the things we can control," CEO Ben Minicucci said in the release.

Revenue mix

Unit revenue rose 11.7% while non-fuel unit costs rose 4.4%. Premium revenue grew about 25% and made up more than 36% of total revenue, the release said. Loyalty program cash remuneration grew 21% to $721 million, and managed corporate revenue rose 30%.

The company also said it intends to join the Atlantic and Pacific Joint International Businesses with oneworld and global partners.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter, Alaska expects an adjusted loss of $2.00 to $2.50 a share, assuming economic fuel of $4.65 to $4.85 a gallon, which it said is $650 million more than its initial plan. For the full year, it now expects an adjusted loss of $5.00 to $5.50 a share, including $1.8 billion of fuel expense above plan.

By the numbers

• Revenue: $4.31 billion, up 14%
• GAAP EPS: loss of $1.32, vs. $0.62 profit
• Adjusted EPS excluding certain tax impacts: $0.36
• Fuel expense: $1.21 billion, up 60%
• Q4 adjusted loss guidance: $2.00 to $2.50 a share
• Full-year adjusted loss guidance: $5.00 to $5.50 a share

Sources

1. Alaska Air Group, Inc., Form 8-K (Items 2.02 and 7.01) with Exhibit 99.1 earnings release, filed Oct. 20, 2026, accession 0000766421-26-000046

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