此次航空需求疲软还拖累了休闲产业股票，包括主题公园运营商和假日预订平台：迪士尼股价下跌5%，在线旅游服务公司Expedia暴跌7.3%、Booking Holdings下跌2.2%。The CEO of United Airlines stated that he has observed weakness in the domestic market in the USA and expects the "future economic situation will be more severe," with weak demand "starting from government sectors." Delta Air Lines also issued a profit warning on Monday, attributing the reasons to the decline in consumer and business confidence caused by economic "uncertainty." Its CEO mentioned that customers "are waiting to see what happens with changes in trade, tariffs, and macroeconomic policies."
Recently, several major Airlines in the USA, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines, have lowered their financial expectations for the first quarter, warning that domestic demand in the USA is slowing down - this is the latest signal of weakening consumer confidence in the USA.
As a result, US airline stocks faced widespread selling yesterday, with American Airlines' stock price dropping by 8.3% on Tuesday, Delta Air Lines down by 7.2%, and United Airlines down by 2%. Southwest Airlines was one of the few airlines to see an increase in stock price, rising by 8.3% after announcing that it would begin charging for checked baggage.
The weak demand for Airlines has also dragged down stocks in the Leisure Industry, including theme park operators and holiday booking platforms: Disney's stock price fell by 5%, while online Travel Services company Expedia plunged by 7.3%, and Booking Holdings dropped by 2.2%.
Furthermore, the biggest concern in the US stock market on Tuesday was the weakness in the Consumer-related Sector: the Middle-Income Consumer Index (GSXUMIDC Index) fell by 210 basis points, and the travel sector (GXUTRVL Index) excluding the Gambling Industry dropped by 170 basis points, mainly affected by the weak guidance from Delta Air Lines and the weak expectations from Kohl's and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Analysts believe that Trump's tariff policy is eroding consumer and business confidence, and the airline warnings are one of the strongest signs to date. Yesterday, a report released by the National Federation of Independent Business showed that small business optimism weakened in February, and the consumer confidence index in the USA recorded the largest decline since August 2021 last month, with consumers' short-term outlook for the economy falling below the threshold typically indicating a recession.
The latest financial warning from American Airlines.
On Tuesday, American Airlines lowered its revenue growth and profit guidance for the first quarter, blaming it on "the aircraft collision incident over Washington at the end of January and the weakness in the domestic Leisure market."
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated at the JPMorgan conference that he has observed a weakness in the US domestic market and expects that "the future economic situation will be more severe." Kirby added that the weak demand "began in the government sector," with public sector customers accounting for about 2% of the company's Business, and consultants, contractors, and government-related work areas accounting for another 2-3%.
"Expenditure from these customers has decreased by about 50%, and we have already seen this impact spread to the Leisure market."
Kirby also noted a significant decline in traffic volume from Canada to the USA—the relationship between the USA and Canada has become tense due to tariff issues.
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan stated that the company has lowered its guidance for revenue per available seat mile (an important Indicator in the Aviation industry) by 3 percentage points, primarily due to weak bookings resulting from the macroeconomic environment.
Delta Air Lines issued a profit warning on Monday, attributing it to a decline in Consumer and business confidence caused by economic "uncertainty." CEO Ed Bastian stated that customers "are waiting to see what will happen with trade, tariffs, and macroeconomic policy changes."
