US-TRAVEL-HOLIDAY-AVIATION American Airlines plane seen through airport window

(Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

On a Jet plane

American Airlines joins its rivals in saying “actually, you know what, never mind” about full-year guidance

The airline reported its first-quarter earnings Thursday morning.

4/24/25 9:29AM

The big four airlines have now all reported their earnings, and one thing is clear: the seatbelt sign is on for 2025.

Shares of American Airlines ticked down premarket Thursday after the airline reported its first-quarter earnings. Revenue came in at $12.55 billion, a hair above estimates but down slightly from the same period last year.

Like its rivals Delta Air Lines , Southwest Airlines, and Frontier Airlines, American responded to tariffs and their as yet unknown hit on travel demand by pulling its full-year outlook.

Removing one-time items, the carrier reported a loss per share of -$0.59, better than the -$0.70 expected by analysts and American’s own downwardly adjusted forecast of between -$0.60 and -$0.80.

Looking to the current quarter, American forecast revenue to land somewhere between down 2% and up 1%. American fared similarly to Southwest, which reported earnings after the bell Wednesday, logging a 1.6% drop in revenue and forecasting an up to 4% drop for the second quarter.

American’s performance isn’t all that surprising. Even before tariffs began shaking the industry, when rivals like Delta and United Airlines were still painting wildly rosy first-quarter outlooks, American’s forecast was gloomy.

Now that tariffs are here, billions of dollars have been wiped off the big four carriers’ valuations and several airlines have made cuts to their April-June capacity. This month, analysts from both Jefferies and Goldman Sachs slapped American with downgrades.

American earlier this month ended its free Wi-Fi holdout, announcing that no-cost connectivity would hit 90% of its flights beginning in January 2026. Despite big revenue from ancillary charges like Wi-Fi and bags (American scored an estimated $8.4 billion from such fees in 2023), the carrier was pressured by its big four rivals to begin offering the perk.

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Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

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JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

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Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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