JetBlue’s Cash And Investments Fell By 25% In Three Months—Will Their Cash Last While They Turn The Airline Around?

JetBlue ended September with $2.2 billion in liquidity. Its June-quarter filing reported the same rounded figure. But they counted different things. Unrestricted cash and investments fell by $542 million in just three months. They blew through a quarter of their unrestricted cash in… just a quarter. They hold their earnings call on Wednesday. They do seem to be turning their business around The question – and why creditors hired restructuring advisers – is whether they have enough cash runway to get there. In their June quarter filing, the $2.2 billion excluded an undrawn $600 million credit line. In the new earnings release, the $2.2 billion includes it. Liquidity June 30 September 30 Unrestricted cash and investments $2.168 billion $1.626 billion Undrawn credit line $600 million $600 million Combined $2.768 billion $2.226 billion JetBlue’s revenue performance is getting better. In a strong economic environment with moderating fuel prices they probably make it. And if they don’t the airline doesn’t go away – the question is whether they restructure or get acquired (or get acquired through a restructuring). If they hadn’t found themselves in such a hole, with bad decision after bad decision under the previous CEO, it would be a different conversation entirely. The new 10-Q shows they’re complying with debt covenants. They haven’t had to post collateral to their credit card processor. Revenue grew 21.1%, and revenue per available seat mile increased 18.4%. They’re earning more from the flying they’re doing, rather than producing growth simply by operating more flights. But the additional revenue didn’t cover the additional expenses. Third Quarter Results 2026 2025 Revenue $2.812 billion $2.322 billion Adjusted operating loss $111 million $95 million Adjusted operating margin −3.9% −4.1% Adjusted net loss $226 million $144 million Adjusted loss per share 60 cents 40 cents JetBlue actually outperformed several airlines on revenue growth. And those carriers were trumpeting their record sales: Airline Unit Revenue Growth Adjusted Operating Margin Southwest 21.6% 5.4% JetBlue 18.4% −3.9% United 15.9% 6.9% Delta 15.4% 9.4% American 14.5% 0.8% Among these five airlines, JetBlue came second on unit revenue growth and last on profitability. Average fares increased 19.2%, while the percentage of seats filled fell from 85.1% to 83.6%. They collected more from the passengers they carried, but filled a smaller share of the plane. Fort Lauderdale growth appears to be working. Capacity increased more than 65%, while unit revenue still increased nearly 15%. That wouldn’t be happening if Spirit Airlines had survived. The Spirit bankrutpcy let JetBlue fill the void there. Domestic first class is an opportunity for future revenue growth. It started selling October 15 and begins flying December 8. Frequent flyer revenue grew 20%, but that was mostly recognizing points earned in the past that were redeemed for award travel. Award air transportation revenue rose from $142 million to $182 million. More than 1.1 billion points have been redeemed on United. Nontransportation loyalty and related revenue, which also includes lounge access, rose from $133 million to $148 million. They’re making the cards more integral to the airline through lounges, upgrades and the latest Mosaic overhaul, while cutting some benefits for less frequent customers. Depending on fuel prices and the strength of the broader economy they could even make money at some point next year. They’re a relatively small airline paying about $600 million in interest a year, and the have a wall of debt repayments coming in 2029. But the bigger challenge is available cash (and the market’s willingness to finance remaining assets), and how quickly they’re going through it. Debt covenants don’t let them spend the cash down to zero without accelerating repayments! The airline’s target of at least $1 per share in earnings in 2028 assumes continued strong demand and $3 per gallon jet fuel, compared to a forecast this quarter of $4.64. That means the price of fuel would have to decline 35%. That could happen – but it’s a lot of wishing and a lot that’s outside their control. Topics on this page