Alaska Airlines CEO: California refineries are a big risk for us going forward

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 23, 2026 at 18:57  |  5:12  |  CNBC
Speakers
Ben Minicucci — CEO, S&P Global

Summary

Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, discusses the company's quarterly earnings beat and a wide 2026 EPS guidance range of $3.50-$6.50. He highlights record bookings and strong demand entering 2026, but warns that California refinery outages and elevated West Coast jet fuel prices are a major cost risk. Minicucci also outlines IT resilience investments and short-term weather disruptions from a winter storm.

  • Alaska Airlines beat Street estimates and guided 2026 EPS to a wide $3.50-$6.50 range.
  • Management sees record bookings and strong demand to start 2026, with cautious optimism.
  • California refinery outages have kept West Coast jet fuel prices high for nearly two years.
  • Each $0.10 per gallon of higher West Coast fuel costs equals about $0.75 of Alaska EPS.
  • Alaska is investing in short-term IT hardware and infrastructure, with a longer-term cloud decision possible.
  • A winter storm is expected to disrupt air travel and force East Coast schedule reductions.
  • About 20% of Alaska's operations fly to the East Coast.
Ideas
Ben Minicucci CEO, S&P Global 0:56
Record bookings support Alaska Airlines demand.
Alaska Airlines is seeing record bookings and strong demand entering 2026, which supports a positive revenue outlook and cautious optimism. Management is comfortable with the midpoint of its wide 2026 EPS guidance around $5, though macro and fuel volatility keep the range at $3.50-$6.50.
ALK HIGH
Ben Minicucci CEO, S&P Global 1:29
California refineries keep West Coast fuel risk.
California refinery outages have persisted for almost two years and are keeping West Coast jet fuel prices elevated, creating a major cost risk for Alaska and West Coast consumers. The issue is unlikely to resolve quickly, and each $0.10 per gallon increase in West Coast fuel costs represents about $0.75 of EPS for Alaska, making it a key variable to monitor.
West Coast jet fuel HIGH
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This CNBC video, published January 23, 2026, features Ben Minicucci discussing ALK, West Coast jet fuel. 2 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Ben Minicucci  · Tickers: ALK, West Coast jet fuel