JetBlue has been losing money for years. It just charted a path to profitability.

By Claudia Assis

JetBlue's stock rises nearly 20% as a new profit target helps calm fears about the airline's viability

JetBlue's CEO says the company expects to become profitable on an operating basis next year.

JetBlue shares rallied on Tuesday after the beleaguered airline sought to allay worries about its business, saying it's on the cusp of being profitable again - something it hasn't managed to accomplish since 2019.

Investors zeroed in on comments by CEO Joanna Geraghty earlier Tuesday. JetBlue's chief said on a call with analysts that the airline remains "focused on operating profitability in 2027" and sees "multiple paths to at least $1 in earnings per share and positive free cash flow in 2028."

The stock (JBLU) jumped 19% on Tuesday, for its largest one-day percentage gain since April 2025.

Tuesday's gains take some of the sting out of a difficult October. The stock is down more than 30% this month, which is shaping up to be its worst since March 2020. Shares are down nearly 40% this year, and fell nearly 10% on Monday, ending at a record low for the third straight session.

"Despite significant fuel headwinds and a challenging summer operation, our revenue performance is among the strongest in the industry," Geraghty said. Demand remains resilient, and the airline is starting to reap compounding benefits of its multiyear turnaround plan, she added.

The airline late Monday reported a third-quarter loss of 60 cents a share, wider than Wall Street's expectations for a loss of 54 cents a share, according to FactSet. Quarterly revenue was in line with expectations.

JetBlue has been a focus of investors' concerns for months as it and other lower-cost U.S. carriers struggle to break through the dominance of full-service, legacy airlines such as Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United (UAL), and following the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines in May.

The airline industry has also had to contend with high jet-fuel prices pushing up costs and eating away at their profits.

Concerns about JetBlue's viability have flared in recent days, however. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a group of senior JetBlue creditors engaged advisers, a step typically taken when creditors have doubts about repayments they are owed.

JetBlue appears to be strong operationally in areas within its control, analysts at UBS said in a note Tuesday. "High fuel costs remain a headwind, but we continue to believe [JetBlue] has enough liquidity reserves to manage through at least the near-term," they said.

The airline has reiterated that it has sufficient liquidity through 2028 and finished the third quarter with about $2.2 billion. The company burned through around $329 million in free cash in the quarter, but its guidance implied that the burn will narrow to $235 million in the current quarter.

It will be "critical" for JetBlue to stem cash losses in the current quarter and in the first quarter, said George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

"in 4Q and 1Q if fuel prices don't fall. At these fares and fuel prices the market is shrinking with airlines reticent to cut capacity much as they lose economies of scale and other costs start ballooning. In such an environment, the stronger balance sheet companies survive and take share, airlines like Delta and Southwest have among the best balance sheets. United isn't as strong but its premium and loyalty business is helping to sustain strong earnings. Unfortunately, JetBlue has one of the weakest balance sheets of the US airlines which will make retaining liquidity and raising money critical."

-Claudia Assis

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10-27-26 1638ET