Why Shares of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. Jumped Today

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Republic Airways Holdings jumped 10% today after the small aircraft operator reported earnings.

So what: Operating revenue in the fourth quarter was up 5.8% to $346.5 million and net income from continuing operations nearly doubled to $16.5 million, or $0.30 per share. Earnings were $0.03 below estimates, but revenue came in slightly ahead of estimates on the back of 22.5% growth in the fixed-fee-service business.  

Now what: The sale of Frontier Airlines resulted in a big drop in passenger service revenue, but the core fixed-fee business is still doing well. That's what investors are looking at today and for the full year we've seen fixed-fees grow 15.8%. Shares trade at just nine times forward estimates and, given Republic Airways' momentum, I think shares still have room to run.