Volaris stock tops $1 billion revenue as fuel cuts into profit

Volaris reported record quarterly revenue on Monday, October 26, but rising fuel and operating costs kept the Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier in the red. In its third quarter of 2026, operating revenue reached 1.038 billion US dollars, up 32% from a year earlier, according to Aviacionline.

Revenue growth faces cost pressure

Passenger demand, fares and ancillary revenue lifted total revenue per available seat mile by 19% to 10.31 US cents. Capacity increased 11% to 10.1 billion available seat miles.

Costs grew faster than sales. Operating expenses rose to 1.004 billion US dollars from 716 million US dollars a year earlier, while average economic fuel cost increased 57% to 4.10 US dollars per gallon. Cost per available seat mile rose 26% to 9.97 US cents, although the figure excluding fuel increased more moderately to 6.23 US cents.

Volaris generated operating income of about 34 million US dollars, but reported a 26 million US dollar net loss compared with net income of 6 million US dollars in the year-earlier quarter. EBITDAR remained broadly stable at 263 million US dollars, while the margin declined to 25.3% from 33.6%.

Fourth-quarter outlook turns cautious

Management expects available seat miles to grow by about 4% in the October-to-December period. Total revenue per available seat mile is projected at roughly 10.90 US cents and cost per available seat mile excluding fuel at about 6.50 US cents.

The projected fourth-quarter EBITDAR margin is approximately 20%, well below the 37.2% recorded a year earlier. The outlook assumes a US Gulf Coast jet fuel price of about 4.40 US dollars per gallon. For the full year, Volaris targets capacity growth of about 5%, an EBITDAR margin near 21% and net capital expenditure of approximately 350 million US dollars.

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