Airline stocks slide after Delta lowers 2024 earnings guidance

Delta said it expects March quarter unit revenues to be flat to down 3 percent over 2023, according Delta President Glen Hauenstein. “The March quarter includes a headwind from higher international mix, the normalization of travel credit utilization and lapping a competitor’s operational challenges in the year ago period,” he said in a statement.

Related: Delta almost doubles Q4 profit, but shares slide on lowered earnings guidance

For 2024, Delta
DAL,
+0.36%
expects earnings of $6 to $7 a share, below the target of over $7 a share the company outlined at an investor day in December 2022. Delta also expects 2024 free cash flow of $3 billion to $4 billion, an improvement of up to $2 billion over 2023.

The airline also announced Friday that it was ordering 20 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft for its long-distance fleet.

Shares of American Airlines Group Inc.
AAL,
+1.67%
are down 4.7% in premarket trades, while United Airlines Holdings Inc.’s stock
UAL,
+0.56%
is down 4.6% and JetBlue Airways Corp.
JBLU,
+1.47%
is down 2.3%.

Related: Alaska Airlines cancels 737 Max 9 flights through Saturday

Shares of Alaska Air Group Inc.
ALK,
-0.19%,
which is dealing with the fallout from the recent incident that saw a panel blow out of a 737-9 Max, are down 2.7% in premarket trades.

The U.S. Global Jets ETF
JETS
is also down 2.8% in premarket trades.