After hiking its recession probability, Goldman Sachs lowered its US airline industry outlook
After hiking its odds of a recession for the second time in a week (to 45%) on Monday, Goldman Sachs on Tuesday lowered its outlook for the US airline industry and slapped American Airlines with a downgrade from “neutral” to “sell.”
American’s shares were down more than 7% in afternoon trading. Its rivals in the big four — United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines — were all down more than 3%.
Analyst Catherine O’Brien lowered her price targets for American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska Air, among others. The price target of Delta, which reports its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday morning, remains unchanged.
Tariffs and their expected effects on travel spending and US tourism have been squeezing airlines, which were already facing pressure from customers’ increased safety concerns. Last month, aviation analytics firm OAG said that US-Canada ticket bookings between April and September were down by up to 76%.
