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Investing.com -- Shares of Ryanair (ISE:RYA) edged down 0.5% today after the airline reported its February passenger data. Despite a 14% increase in the number of passengers to 12.6 million, the company’s stock faced a slight decline due to concerns over future passenger growth rates.
The company’s load factor, a measure of how full its flights are, remained flat year-on-year at 92%. While the February numbers were strong, the market’s reaction suggests investors are looking beyond these figures, focusing on the airline’s forward-looking guidance.
Ryanair’s guidance for the fiscal year 2025 anticipates nearly 200 million passengers. However, to achieve this target and meet consensus expectations, passenger growth would need to slow to 5.2% in March. This forecast takes into account the potential impact of Easter, which is expected to present a headwind to growth next month.
Analysts at Jefferies commented on the report, stating, "To reach this and consensus would imply passenger growth slows to +5.2% March. This is sensible given the Easter headwind in March, though Cirium seat capacity does show an inflection with Mar +11% vs Feb +13%."
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