Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for JetBlue Airways

Key Points

• Zacks Research modestly raised JetBlue’s Q3 2026 EPS estimate to a loss of $0.54 per share from $0.57, while forecasting a $2.42 loss for full-year 2026.
• Despite the near-term upgrade, Zacks lowered several 2027–2028 earnings forecasts, signaling slower-than-expected profitability improvement. Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $5.41.
• JetBlue’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, reporting a $0.66 per-share loss versus the projected $0.69 loss, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year to $2.70 billion. The company remains financially pressured, with negative margins, a 5.04 debt-to-equity ratio and shares opening at $4.55.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for shares of JetBlue Airways in a report issued on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the transportation company will post earnings of ($0.54) per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of ($0.57). The consensus estimate for JetBlue Airways' current full-year earnings is ($2.42) per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for JetBlue Airways' FY2026 earnings at ($2.42) EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.50) EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at ($0.14) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($0.53) EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at ($0.03) EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.34 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.65 EPS.

JBLU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Seaport Research Partners lowered JetBlue Airways from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 24th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $5.41.

JetBlue Airways Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of JBLU opened at $4.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. JetBlue Airways has a 12 month low of $3.87 and a 12 month high of $6.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 1.70.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 45.92% and a negative net margin of 9.32%.JetBlue Airways's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other JetBlue Airways news, CFO Ursula Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total value of $444,977.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 211,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. This trade represents a 26.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 81,253 shares of company stock valued at $465,897. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,542,536 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $24,498,000 after purchasing an additional 813,782 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,022,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways in the second quarter worth approximately $13,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the second quarter valued at $11,336,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth $10,748,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JetBlue Airways News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting JetBlue Airways this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research made modest upward revisions to its Q3 2026 EPS estimate, to a loss of $0.54 from a loss of $0.57, and to its FY2026 estimate, to a loss of $2.42 from a loss of $2.46. These changes suggest near-term results could be slightly better than previously expected. JetBlue Airways analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Airline shares were described as largely resilient after a failed telecom circuit at a Philadelphia air-traffic facility disrupted more than 1,000 flights across the New York area. The disruption creates operational risks for JetBlue, but the broader airline group reportedly remained relatively unfazed. Airline stocks and ground stop delays
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered several forward estimates: Q1 2027 EPS to a loss of $0.50 from $0.34, FY2027 EPS to a loss of $0.53 from $0.35, Q4 2027 EPS to a loss of $0.14 from $0.10, Q1 2028 EPS to a loss of $0.03 from income of $0.02, and FY2028 EPS to $0.65 from $0.76. The revisions point to slower profitability improvement and are likely weighing on JBLU, particularly given its high leverage and negative margins. JetBlue Airways earnings estimates

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation NASDAQ: JBLU is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and select destinations in Europe. The company serves leisure and business travelers through a network connecting major cities, focus cities and vacation destinations.

JetBlue offers several travel products and services, including standard economy seating, premium Mint service on select routes, and EvenMore seating with additional legroom and other benefits.

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