The Daily Chase: Markets point to a negative open; Air Canada beats analyst expectations

​North American equity markets are searching for some stability in the final trading session of what’s been a reasonably volatile week.

AIR CANADA TOPS Q1 EXPECTATIONS AS TRAVEL DEMAND REBOUNDS

Air Canada’s latest results are reiterating that demand is roaring back as Canadians who were homebound by the pandemic scratch the travel itch now that restrictions have been lifted. It’s a beat on the top and bottom lines – adjusted loss per share came in at $0.53 against an estimate of $0.77, while operating revenue was a first quarter record $4.89 billion, up about 90 per cent than a year ago. Now, this isn’t out of the blue – the company did raise its full-year outlook just last week, foreshadowing such a result – but it does give us greater insight into how the travel sector is getting back to business these days. Further to all of this, Air Canada is also flying with fuller planes, as load factor (basically, a measure of how many seats are filled against how many are available) surged to nearly 85 per cent in the quarter, up from just 66 per cent a year earlier.

LET’S GO TO THE LOBBY, AND GET OURSELVES A TREAT