Spirit Airlines Makes Gains Despite Rising Fuel Prices

Spirit Airlines executives may not be as fazed by rising fuel costs like the executives of major U.S. airlines have been. The U.S. discount carrier beat Wall Street's earnings expectations in the second quarter of 2018. Analysts polled by Dow Jones expected earnings of $1.09 cents a share, but the airline delivered $1.14 a share. Excluding special items, Spirit reported net income of $75.7 million in the second quarter, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier. It had an operating margin of 13.3 percent, down from 19 percent year-over-year. Investors bid up the airline's share price in trading on Thursday. Spirit's strong performance flies in the face of news from major carriers that rising fuel costs have been eating into their bottom lines. This week American Airlines lowered its 2018 profit outlook due heavily to fuel costs, while Southwest Airlines said that fuel costs weighed on its results, too. In an earnings call on Thursday, Spirit CEO Rober