advertisement

Southwest profit soars on tax bump

DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines is reporting that fourth-quarter net income soared to $1.89 billion on a massive tax benefit.

Per-share profit for the Dallas carrier was $3.18, but 77 cents when adjusted for one-time gains, including $1.4 billion due to sweeping changes in U.S. tax law. Per-share earnings are still a penny better than Wall Street expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue, at $5.27 billion, also edged out analyst projections of $5.24 billion.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. faded slightly before the opening bell Thursday.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LUV at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LUV

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.