# JetBlue Airways (JBLU.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/JBLU

Analysis as of: 2026-10-15T06:35:12.725Z. Financial observations: FY1999–FY2026.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $3.15 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 3 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 3

- Years with a net loss: 7

- Operating margin variation: 3.39×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: 0.14×

- FY2018: 0.03×

- FY2019: 0.10×

- FY2020: -0.58×

- FY2021: -0.01×

- FY2022: -0.03×

- FY2023: -0.02×

- FY2024: -0.07×

- FY2025: -0.04×

- LTM to Jun 2026: -0.06×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 4.1pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: -1.7%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -6.6%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 4.1 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 28.8%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 24.7%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 14.9%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -3.5%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 12.5%

- FY2017: 15.3%

- FY2018: 3.2%

- FY2019: 7.3%

- FY2020: -20.4%

- FY2021: -1.1%

- FY2022: -3.6%

- FY2023: -2.4%

- FY2024: -6.6%

- FY2025: -2.9%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: -$3.6B

- Net income, five-year total: -$2.3B

- Return on incremental invested capital: -18.3%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -0.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: -0.3 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: -1.4%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: -$182M

- FY2022: -$362M

- FY2023: -$310M

- FY2024: -$1.8B

- FY2025: -$1.0B

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 12.5% vs -2.9%

- Per-share earnings: 2.12 to -1.66 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- acquired goodwill and intangibles (proxy) exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 0.5%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 5.5%

- Market cap gain: -$5.9B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$1.7B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 0.5%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 5.5%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: -$3.79

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $2.12

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: -$1.66

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.47

- Average buyback yield: 3.0%

- Buyback history: 10 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $2.1B

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: -$980M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 12.5%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -2.9%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $2.12

- FY2017: $3.45

- FY2018: $0.60

- FY2019: $1.91

- FY2020: -$4.88

- FY2021: -$0.57

- FY2022: -$1.12

- FY2023: -$0.93

- FY2024: -$2.30

- FY2025: -$1.66

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -2.7%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.09×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.20×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -9.5%

- FY2017: -2.6%

- FY2018: -9.9%

- FY2019: -7.4%

- FY2020: -5.0%

- FY2021: -12.3%

- FY2022: -5.1%

- FY2023: -4.6%

- FY2024: -5.6%

- FY2025: -2.7%

## Holders

- [Carl Icahn](https://gigainvestors.com/ic): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 79% since Feb 2022 · "JetBlue (JBLU) Raises its Revenue Forecast, but Costs are Climbing Just as Fast" (finance.yahoo.com, Sep 2026) · sales +4.9%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:58:58.937Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

- 2025-06-17: JetBlue to trim flights, cut costs as 2025 breakeven 'unlikely', memo shows ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/jetblue-plans-new-cost-cuts-amid-weak-travel-demand-memo-shows-4099497))

- 2025-10-28: JetBlue Gives Weak Fourth-Quarter Unit Revenue Outlook Despite Improving Demand Trends ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jetblue-gives-weak-fourth-quarter-165051492.html))

- 2026-02-07: JetBlue (JBLU) Climbs 30.6% on Lower Losses, Upbeat Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jetblue-jblu-climbs-30-6-120134846.html))

- 2026-03-17: JetBlue cuts Q1 available seat mile forecast, raises revenue outlook ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4565188-jetblue-cuts-q1-available-seat-mile-forecast-raises-revenue-outlook?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2026-05-03: JetBlue Moves To Capture Spirit Gap And Reshape Fort Lauderdale Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/jetblue-moves-capture-spirit-gap-130759003.html))

- 2026-08-25: High Aircraft Fuel Costs Continue to Impact JetBlue’s Credit Health ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/high-aircraft-fuel-costs-continue-170114053.html))

### Sales · FY2025–2026

sales +4.9%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-12.

- FY2017: $7.0B 

- FY2018: $7.7B 

- FY2019: $8.1B 

- FY2020: $3.0B 

- FY2021: $6.0B 

- FY2022: $9.2B 

- FY2023: $9.6B 

- FY2024: $9.3B 

- FY2025: $9.1B 

- FY2026: $9.5B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 33.9%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-12.

- FY2016: 41.9% 

- FY2017: 37.1% 

- FY2018: 33.0% 

- FY2019: 33.8% 

- FY2021: 14.7% 

- FY2022: 21.5% 

- FY2023: 24.1% 

- FY2024: 24.7% 

- FY2025: 33.9% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in airlines; annual sales are USD 9.1 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: revenue 9062000000; grossProfit 3069000000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); JBLU.US: JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A321, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A321neo with Mint, and Airbus A321neoLR with Mint aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada, and Europe. In addition, it operates airport lounges, as well as provides vacation services. JetBlue Airways Corporation was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Long Island City, New York.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 24.1% to 33.9% during 2023–25; it lost 1.7% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 24.1%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 24.7%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 33.9%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.12465753424657534],[2017,0.15291529152915292],[2018,0.032492801675246485],[2019,0.07303861162456357],[2020,-0.2043555689707214],[2021,-0.010851648351648351],[2022,-0.03592004882514495],[2023,-0.02360659997401585],[2024,-0.06611525755536522],[2025,-0.028738631870304468]]; median -0.0172291241628321. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 4 of 10 years; bought back USD 8 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2016: growth capex 228482499.65570664; upkeep 782517500.3442934; owner earnings 305482499.65570664. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.7479397343979355.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2017: growth capex 407692517.0824821; upkeep 794307482.9175179; owner earnings 728692517.0824821. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.5594849782659901.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2018: growth capex 691000000; upkeep 423000000; owner earnings 189000000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 3.6560846560846563.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2019: growth capex 483413884.8542353; upkeep 672586115.1457647; owner earnings 369413884.8542353. Growth capex / owner earnings = 1.3085969549980032.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); Dividend observations: [[2016,0],[2017,0],[2018,687000000],[2019,981000000],[2020,3904000000],[2021,0],[2022,0],[2023,1409000000],[2024,0],[2025,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: cash repurchases 8000000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 10.5% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); JBLU.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 10.549 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-15.

### What the price says

The price is 0.1 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); Closing price 3.15 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 25.026235846451257; price multiple 0.1258679099536526. FY2025 cash earnings/share -2.861088097210715. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $17.48 per share

- 2016-11: $20.09 per share

- 2016-12: $22.42 per share

- 2017-01: $19.61 per share

- 2017-02: $19.96 per share

- 2017-03: $20.61 per share

- 2017-04: $21.83 per share

- 2017-05: $22.42 per share

- 2017-06: $22.83 per share

- 2017-07: $21.93 per share

- 2017-08: $19.81 per share

- 2017-09: $18.53 per share

- 2017-10: $19.15 per share

- 2017-11: $21.47 per share

- 2017-12: $22.34 per share

- 2018-01: $20.86 per share

- 2018-02: $21.05 per share

- 2018-03: $20.32 per share

- 2018-04: $19.19 per share

- 2018-05: $18.89 per share

- 2018-06: $18.98 per share

- 2018-07: $18.00 per share

- 2018-08: $19.08 per share

- 2018-09: $19.36 per share

- 2018-10: $16.73 per share

- 2018-11: $19.52 per share

- 2018-12: $16.06 per share

- 2019-01: $17.99 per share

- 2019-02: $16.70 per share

- 2019-03: $16.36 per share

- 2019-04: $18.55 per share

- 2019-05: $17.23 per share

- 2019-06: $18.49 per share

- 2019-07: $19.23 per share

- 2019-08: $17.32 per share

- 2019-09: $16.75 per share

- 2019-10: $19.30 per share

- 2019-11: $19.27 per share

- 2019-12: $18.72 per share

- 2020-01: $19.83 per share

- 2020-02: $15.78 per share

- 2020-03: $8.95 per share

- 2020-04: $9.74 per share

- 2020-05: $10.07 per share

- 2020-06: $10.90 per share

- 2020-07: $10.34 per share

- 2020-08: $11.52 per share

- 2020-09: $11.33 per share

- 2020-10: $11.97 per share

- 2020-11: $15.09 per share

- 2020-12: $14.54 per share

- 2021-01: $14.34 per share

- 2021-02: $18.43 per share

- 2021-03: $20.34 per share

- 2021-04: $20.36 per share

- 2021-05: $20.10 per share

- 2021-06: $16.78 per share

- 2021-07: $14.79 per share

- 2021-08: $15.13 per share

- 2021-09: $15.29 per share

- 2021-10: $14.03 per share

- 2021-11: $13.42 per share

- 2021-12: $14.24 per share

- 2022-01: $14.63 per share

- 2022-02: $15.27 per share

- 2022-03: $14.95 per share

- 2022-04: $11.01 per share

- 2022-05: $10.74 per share

- 2022-06: $8.37 per share

- 2022-07: $8.42 per share

- 2022-08: $7.79 per share

- 2022-09: $6.63 per share

- 2022-10: $8.04 per share

- 2022-11: $7.96 per share

- 2022-12: $6.48 per share

- 2023-01: $8.00 per share

- 2023-02: $8.30 per share

- 2023-03: $7.28 per share

- 2023-04: $7.14 per share

- 2023-05: $6.83 per share

- 2023-06: $8.86 per share

- 2023-07: $7.77 per share

- 2023-08: $5.92 per share

- 2023-09: $4.60 per share

- 2023-10: $3.76 per share

- 2023-11: $4.42 per share

- 2023-12: $5.55 per share

- 2024-01: $5.31 per share

- 2024-02: $6.48 per share

- 2024-03: $7.42 per share

- 2024-04: $5.68 per share

- 2024-05: $5.59 per share

- 2024-06: $6.09 per share

- 2024-07: $6.41 per share

- 2024-08: $5.08 per share

- 2024-09: $6.56 per share

- 2024-10: $5.70 per share

- 2024-11: $5.97 per share

- 2024-12: $7.86 per share

- 2025-01: $6.58 per share

- 2025-02: $6.52 per share

- 2025-03: $4.82 per share

- 2025-04: $4.36 per share

- 2025-05: $5.05 per share

- 2025-06: $4.23 per share

- 2025-07: $4.44 per share

- 2025-08: $5.35 per share

- 2025-09: $4.92 per share

- 2025-10: $4.20 per share

- 2025-11: $4.57 per share

- 2025-12: $4.55 per share

- 2026-01: $4.87 per share

- 2026-02: $5.54 per share

- 2026-03: $4.42 per share

- 2026-04: $4.66 per share

- 2026-05: $5.47 per share

- 2026-06: $5.73 per share

- 2026-07: $6.03 per share

- 2026-08: $4.60 per share

- 2026-09: $4.23 per share

- 2026-10: $3.35 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2016: low $10.67 per share, central $13.40 per share, high $15.51 per share

- FY2017: low $13.43 per share, central $16.47 per share, high $18.95 per share

- FY2018: low $14.46 per share, central $17.86 per share, high $20.68 per share

- FY2019: low $20.89 per share, central $28.17 per share, high $32.41 per share

- FY2020: low $16.10 per share, central $16.84 per share, high $17.81 per share

- FY2021: low $13.68 per share, central $14.38 per share, high $15.32 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1158463/000115846326000007/jblu-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-12.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.