Earnings season is in full swing and Thursday morning brought three of the major airline earnings reports: Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) and United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL). We are seeing a mixed reaction here, although the trends seem to be positive in traffic and load factors, and the threat of Ebola and overseas risks may not be as large as some had feared.

Southwest

Southwest Airlines reported $0.55 in earnings per share and $4.8 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter, against Thomson Reuters consensus earnings estimates of $0.53 in earnings per share and $4.79 billion in revenue. In the third quarter of the previous year, Southwest had earnings of $0.34 per share and revenue of $4.54 billion.

Net income for the third quarter was $382 million and operating income was $649 million, resulting in an operating margin of 13.5%. Fuel costs were $2.94 per gallon, compared to the previous year’s $3.06 per gallon. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, fuel costs are expected to be in the range of $2.70 to $2.75 per gallon.

Shares of Southwest closed Wednesday even at $34.20. The initial reaction following the release of the earnings report in the premarket was positive, and shares opened Thursday at $35.00. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $37.78 and a 52-week trading range of $16.17 to $35.49. The company has a market cap of $23 billion.

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JetBlue

JetBlue Airways reported its earnings as $0.24 per share, on $1.53 billion in revenue. The consensus earnings estimates had called for $0.26 in earnings per share and $1.54 billion in revenue. In the third quarter from the previous year, earnings came to $0.21 per share and revenue totaled $1.44 billion.

Net income for the third quarter was $79 million, which was up from $71 million in the third quarter of the previous year. Revenue passenger miles for the third quarter increased by 5.9% to 10.1 billion on a capacity increase of 4.5%, which resulted in a load factor of 86.2%. Yield per passenger mile was $13.96, or up 0.9% from the same quarter in the previous year. JetBlue’s CEO cited improved profitability across the carrier’s network.

Shares of JetBlue closed Wednesday down about 3% at $11.18. The initial reaction following the release of the earnings report in the premarket was positive, and shares opened at $11.46. Shares have a consensus price target of $13.50 and a 52-week trading range of $7.05 to $12.83. JetBlue has a market cap of $3 billion.

United Continental

United Continental posted earnings of $2.75 per share and $10.56 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates were $2.68 in earnings per share and revenue of $10.56 billion. The results also compared to $1.51 in earnings per share and $10.23 billion in revenue in the third quarter of last year. Net income for the most recent quarter was $1.1 billion, which was its highest quarterly profit ever, and up from the previous year’s $541 million.

Third-quarter passenger revenue increased 4.4% to $9.3 billion. The revenue from cargo this quarter grew 19.1% year-over-year to $237 million from higher cargo volumes. Consolidated revenue passenger miles increased 0.4%, and consolidated available seat miles increased 0.5%. The company claims to be executing against its $2 billion cost reduction plan, improving its balance sheet and returning cash to shareholders.

Shares of United closed Wednesday down almost 1% at $49.06. The initial reaction following the release of the earnings report in the premarket was negative, and shares opened at $46.86. The consensus price target is $57.44, and shares have traded in a 52-week range of $29.63 to $52.45. The company has a market cap of $18 billion.

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