SkyWest (SKYW)
NASDAQ:SKYW
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SkyWest
(NASDAQ:SKYW)
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Rating:74Outperform
Price Target:
$104.00
▲(10.27% Upside)
Action:UpgradedDate:02/20/26
The score is primarily driven by strong financial performance (improving profitability and cash generation with better leverage) and a supportive valuation (low P/E). Earnings call guidance and sentiment add confidence but are tempered by near-term seasonality and maintenance/MRO cost pressures, while technicals indicate only moderate trend strength.
Positive Factors
Cash generation strength
SkyWest's materially stronger cash generation and rebounding free cash flow (OCF ~$940M; FCF covered net income ~1x in 2025) provide durable funding for fleet investment, debt reduction and buybacks. Reliable cash conversion improves financial flexibility through cycles and supports execution of long‑term fleet plans.
Negative Factors
Sizable absolute debt
Even with improving debt ratios, roughly $2.4B of absolute debt leaves the balance sheet exposed to cyclical airline volatility. Interest and repayment obligations can constrain liquidity and strategic flexibility during downturns, limiting runway for opportunistic investments or cushioning prolonged revenue shocks.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Cash generation strength
SkyWest's materially stronger cash generation and rebounding free cash flow (OCF ~$940M; FCF covered net income ~1x in 2025) provide durable funding for fleet investment, debt reduction and buybacks. Reliable cash conversion improves financial flexibility through cycles and supports execution of long‑term fleet plans.
Read all positive factors
SkyWest (SKYW) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.79B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)389.81K
Price to Earnings (P/E)9.4
Beta (1Y)1.05
Revenue Growth19.27%
EPS Growth78.26%
CountryUS
Employees12,876
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryAirlines, Airports & Air Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.21
Shares Outstanding40,178,238
10 Day Avg. Volume359,896
30 Day Avg. Volume389,810
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.29
Price to Book (P/B)1.47
Price to Sales (P/S)1.00
P/FCF Ratio14.10
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.64
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.53
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.59
Enterprise Value/Ebitda6.35
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$119.75Price Target Upside26.97% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering4
EPS Forecast (FY)11.29
Revenue Forecast (FY)$4.31B
SkyWest Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
SkyWest, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates a regional airline in the United States. The company operates through two segment, SkyWest Airlines and SkyWest Leasing. It also leases regional jet aircraft and spare engines to third parties. As ...
How the Company Makes Money
SkyWest primarily makes money by operating flights for major airlines under capacity purchase agreements (CPAs). Under a CPA model, SkyWest is paid by its major-airline partner to operate a defined schedule using SkyWest aircraft and crews (or oth...
SkyWest Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Shows how different business areas contribute to overall revenue, indicating diversification and potential growth opportunities.
Shows how different business areas contribute to overall revenue, indicating diversification and potential growth opportunities.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlySkyWest Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jan 29, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented multiple strong financial and operational wins — notable profit growth (31% pretax increase), robust EBITDA, meaningful free cash flow, significant debt reduction, active share buybacks, and major E175 contract extensions and orderbook expansion — while acknowledging near-term headwinds from a government shutdown impact, elevated maintenance/MRO pressures, sharper seasonality (Q1 EPS pressure), and the workload of returning parked aircraft to service. On balance, the company’s durable cash generation, strengthened balance sheet, fleet commitments, and demonstrated operating leverage outweigh the near-term challenges.Positive Updates
Strong Full-Year Profitability
2025 net income of $428 million or $10.35 per diluted share; Q4 GAAP net income of $91 million or $2.21 per diluted share; Q4 pretax income $125 million and full-year pretax income $506 million, up 31% year-over-year.
Negative Updates
Government Shutdown Impact
Mandated flight cancellations from the November government shutdown reduced Q4 results by approximately $7 million (about $0.13 per share), including roughly 2,000 cancelled flights and 3,000 cancelled block hours.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Full-Year Profitability
2025 net income of $428 million or $10.35 per diluted share; Q4 GAAP net income of $91 million or $2.21 per diluted share; Q4 pretax income $125 million and full-year pretax income $506 million, up 31% year-over-year.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
SkyWest’s 2026 guidance calls for mid‑single‑digit block‑hour growth versus 2025 and full‑year EPS in the mid‑$11s (Q1 EPS expected flat‑to‑down versus Q4 2025 GAAP EPS of $2.21, with Q2 and Q3 the strongest quarters); an effective tax rate of ~24% (lower in Q1) and maintenance expense roughly in line with 2025. Management expects nine E175 deliveries in 2026, to place 23 CRJ‑550s into service, to redeploy ~20 parked dual‑class CRJs (and has over 40 parked CRJ200s available), and projects the E175 fleet to approach nearly 300 by 2028. Capital spending is forecast at $600–625 million in 2026 (about flat with ~ $580 million in 2025), there is $265 million of deferred revenue remaining (modeling recognition roughly $20–25 million per quarter), and the company intends to continue debt reduction while funding fleet investment and opportunistic share repurchases.SkyWest Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
70
Positive
Cash Flow
82
Very Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 4.06B | 3.53B | 2.94B | 3.00B | 2.71B |
| Gross Profit | 2.50B | 788.96M | 372.19M | 499.31M | 193.72M |
| EBITDA | 1.03B | 930.36M | 554.35M | 614.22M | 713.93M |
| Net Income | 428.33M | 322.96M | 34.34M | 72.95M | 111.91M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 7.39B | 7.14B | 7.03B | 7.86B | 7.13B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 706.91M | 801.63M | 835.22M | 1.05B | 860.41M |
| Total Debt | 2.39B | 2.76B | 3.09B | 3.54B | 3.35B |
| Total Liabilities | 4.64B | 4.73B | 4.91B | 5.51B | 4.86B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.75B | 2.41B | 2.11B | 2.35B | 2.27B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 287.00M | 364.18M | 420.01M | -202.22M | 150.42M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 940.36M | 692.46M | 736.33M | 480.38M | 831.82M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -651.83M | -228.63M | -23.23M | -904.89M | -698.52M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -393.22M | -384.75M | -667.81M | 269.08M | -90.60M |
SkyWest Technical Analysis
Positive
94.31
Price Trends
97.45
Negative
98.99
Negative
103.16
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.68
Negative
51.03
Neutral
50.98
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For SKYW, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 94.31 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 91.73, below the 50-day MA of 97.45, and below the 200-day MA of 103.16, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.68 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 51.03 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 50.98 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for SKYW.
SkyWest Risk Analysis
SkyWest disclosed 41 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. SkyWest reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
SkyWest Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $3.79B | 9.45 | 16.35% | ― | 19.27% | 78.26% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
53 Neutral | $938.60M | 14.47 | 8.62% | ― | 4.27% | 28.47% | |
50 Neutral | $4.53B | 69.18 | 2.47% | ― | 31.50% | -49.15% | |
48 Neutral | $1.58B | ― | -4.22% | ― | 3.29% | -983.31% | |
46 Neutral | $1.75B | -2.79 | -26.05% | ― | -2.49% | 47.88% | |
45 Neutral | $877.11M | -7.87 | -27.39% | ― | 1.77% | -1964.48% |
* Industrials Sector Average
SKYW
SkyWest
94.31
9.21
10.82%
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39.50
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ALGT
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4.74
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28.11%
SNCY
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17.32
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ULCC
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3.82
0.66
20.89%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.