Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. AAL,
shot up 54.5% to an 11-month high in trading before trading on Thursday, after the airline reported a lower-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter and a revenue factor and load that exceeded expectations. The company earned a net loss of $ 2.188 billion, or $ 3.81 per share, from net income of $ 414 million, or 95 cents per share, in the prior year period. Excluding non-recurring items, the adjusted loss per share was $ 3.86, surpassing the consensus of FactSet losses of $ 4.11. Revenue fell 64% to $ 4.03 million, but surpassed the $ 3.888 billion FactSet consensus. The load factor fell to 63.4%, from 84.7%, above the FactSet consensus of 62.9%, as traffic decreased by 66.7%, while capacity fell by 55.4%. The daily cash-burning rate during the quarter was $ 30 million, which compares to nearly $ 100 million in April. The company expects to end the first quarter with $ 15 billion in total liquidity available. “As we look at next year, 2021 will be a year of recovery,” said Executive President Doug Parker. “While we don’t know exactly when passenger demand will return, as vaccine distribution is taken advantage of and travel restrictions removed, we will be prepared.” Shares have risen 51.2% over the past three months to Wednesday, while the US Global Jets ETF JETS ETF,
has risen 29.5% and the S&P 500 SPX,
has gained 14.7%.