A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Shares have lost about 5.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Alaska Air due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. Earnings Beat at Alaska Air in Q2 Alaska Air reported second-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $2.55, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36. Earnings decreased 15% on a year-over-year basis. Operating revenues of $2.89 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.94 billion. The top line jumped 2% year over year, with passenger revenues accounting for 91.5% of the top line and increasing 2% owing to continued recovery in air-travel demand. Passenger revenues totaled $2.651 billion in the reported quarter. On a year-over-year basis, cargo and other revenues of $72 million grew 3% year over year. Mileage plan other revenues increased 2% to $174 million. Total revenue per available seat mile (a key measure of unit revenues) grew 4% year over year to 14.51 cents. Yield increased 1% to 16 cents. Reflecting the uptick in air-travel demand, consolidated traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) increased 2% to 15.30 billion. To cater to this increased demand, capacity (measured in average seat miles) grew 6% to 18.19 billion. As traffic failed to outpace capacity expansion, the consolidated load factor (percentage of seat occupancy) fell 2.9 percentage points to 84.1%. In the second quarter, total operating expenses (on a reported basis) increased 3% year over year to $2.575 billion. Economic fuel price per gallon grew 3% to $2.84. Consolidated operating costs per available seat mile (excluding fuel and special items) fell 2% year over year to 9.89 cents. Liquidity As of Jun 30, 2024, Alaska Air had $1.115 billion of cash and marketable securities compared with ...