Spirit Airlines Inc (0L8U.L) Q4 2024 Earnings Report

Spirit Airlines’ QQ4 2024 results reflect a challenging quarter for a high‑leverage ULCC operator. Revenue totalled $1.046 billion, down 20.9% year over year and 12.7% quarter over quarter, as demand normalization and competitive pressure weighed on yields. Reported net income was a loss of $585.7 million with basic earnings per share of $(5.36), driven in large part by an elevated 'other expenses' line of $5.166 billion that dwarfs the core operating performance. Excluding the non-cash/non-operating items, operating losses remained substantial, highlighting persistent margin headwinds in a highly competitive pricing environment.

The quarter also showcased a stressed liquidity and balance sheet profile: free cash flow was negative at $(181.9) million and operating cash flow was $(305.3) million, while cash and cash equivalents stood at $902.1 million and total debt at $2.455 billion (net debt ≈ $1.553 billion). The company carried a current ratio of 1.19 and a negative shareholder equity position (~$(80.1) million). The near-term cash burn and negative profitability underscore the sensitivity of Spirit’s model to demand cycles, fare environment, and fuel costs, even as the company pursues capacity discipline and cost-reduction initiatives to restore unit economics.

Looking ahead, the investment thesis hinges on material improvements in unit costs, stabilization of load factors, and a more favorable pricing environment. Management commentary (not provided in the currently supplied transcript data) typically emphasizes capacity discipline, route optimization, and efficiency gains as catalysts for recovery. In the absence of direct call transcripts in the data set, investors should monitor industry demand trends, competitive dynamics within the ULCC space, fuel price trajectories, and Spirit’s ability to convert any capacity reductions into meaningful margin improvements.