Southwest Swings to 2Q Loss as States See Resurgence in Covid-19 Cases

By Dave Sebastian

Southwest Airlines Co. posted a loss for the second quarter after improvements in passenger traffic stalled in July as some states saw a resurgence in Covid-19.

The largest U.S. domestic carrier recorded a net loss of $915 million, or $1.63 a share, compared with a profit of $741 million, or $1.37 a share, a year ago. Excluding special items, losses were $2.67 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected an adjusted loss of $2.72 a share.

"We expect air travel demand to remain depressed until a vaccine or therapeutics are available to combat the infection and spread of Covid-19," Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly said Thursday.

Sales plunged 83% to $1 billion for the quarter ended June 30, in line with what the company had expected. Analysts were looking for $930.3 million.

The company said it had $14.5 billion in cash and short-term investments as of June 30.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2020 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)

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