Why Frontier Group Stock Just Crashed

Frontier's guidance hasn't changed, but its management just did.Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC 11.11%) stock tumbled 10.9% through 10::10 a.m. ET Tuesday after announcing a change in leadership. Effective immediately, CEO Barry L. Biffle will no longer be CEO (although he'll remain with the company "in an advisory capacity" through the end of the year). Company president James G. Dempsey will take over as interim CEO in his stead. Image source: Frontier Airlines. Details, please No explanation was given for the CEO switcheroo, not even the standard "he wants to spend more time with his family" or "pursue other endeavors." Board of directors chair Bill Franke said he's "deeply appreciative of Barry [Biffle]'s leadership and dedicated service to Frontier over the past 11 years." At the same time, "we believe Jimmy [Dempsey] is uniquely qualified to guide our airline into the future." For his part, as he takes over the airline, Dempsey says: "Frontier is well-positioned to deliver unrivaled value to customers across the United States." ExpandNASDAQ: ULCCFrontier GroupToday's Change(-11.11%) $-0.64Current Price$5.12Key Data PointsMarket Cap$1.3BDay's Range$5.07 - $5.5352wk Range$2.89 - $10.26Volume2.5MAvg Vol4.1MGross Margin1.93% Is Frontier stock a sell? Good news for investors: Bad news on the numbers front doesn't seem to be the issue. Frontier specifically reiterated its previous guidance for Q4 2025, referring investors back to its Nov. 5 earnings report. Advertisement Therein, Frontier had guided investors to expect non-GAAP earnings between $0.04 and $0.20 per share on "roughly flat" capacity growth. That still sounds like an improvement over the company's $0.34 per share loss (both GAAP and non-GAAP) in Q3. Revenue was down about 5% last quarter, too, so if capacity leveling off to "roughly flat" implies a similar move in revenue, then this, too, would be good news for the airline. All this being said, Frontier stock is currently unprofitable and priced north of 21 times forward earnings. I'm not convinced "roughly flat" is good enough to justify that price.About the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolRead NextDec 12, 2025 •By Eric VolkmanWhy Frontier Group Holdings Stock Cruised 11% Higher This WeekSep 2, 2025 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Frontier Group Is Flying High TodaySep 11, 2024 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Frontier Group Stock Is Flying High TodayMay 2, 2024 •By Lou WhitemanWhy April Was a Miserable Month for Discount Airline StocksMar 4, 2024 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Frontier Stock Is Flying High TodayMar 1, 2024 •By Lou WhitemanWhy Frontier Group Holdings Stock Flew Higher in February