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Low-cost airlines climb amid report that Spirit Airlines could liquidate as soon as this week

Shares of low-cost US airlines Frontier and JetBlue are up more than 3% in premarket trading following a Wednesday evening report that rival Spirit Airlines could liquidate as early as this week.

Spirit, which has made efforts to emerge from its bankruptcy filed in August, has reportedly been pummeled by elevated jet fuel prices.

JetBlue reached a deal to acquire Spirit in 2022, but it was blocked in 2024 on antitrust grounds. Bloomberg reported that Frontier had been in talks to merge with Spirit in December.

Jet fuel prices have squeezed the industry since the days leading up to the war in Iran. This month, most major US carriers hiked their bag fees in an attempt to offset some of the cost.

Lower oil prices are also moderately boosting airline stocks on Thursday morning. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down about 3% as of 8:30 a.m. ET.

JetBlue reached a deal to acquire Spirit in 2022, but it was blocked in 2024 on antitrust grounds. Bloomberg reported that Frontier had been in talks to merge with Spirit in December.

Jet fuel prices have squeezed the industry since the days leading up to the war in Iran. This month, most major US carriers hiked their bag fees in an attempt to offset some of the cost.

Lower oil prices are also moderately boosting airline stocks on Thursday morning. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down about 3% as of 8:30 a.m. ET.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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