Airline Stocks Tumble, Nudged Downward By Tariff Fears
Executives fear Americans won’t be venturing abroad this summer.
Credit: United Airlines
At least according to MarketWatch.com, U.S. airlines are skittish over possible effects on summer vacation travel based on tariffs imposed by the current U.S. presidential administration. Investors have shown increasing concern that the accelerated tariffs will generate more than just “trade friction.”
Along with the rest of the stock market, airline stocks have taken a hit over the past month—particularly last week.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJT), widely seen as an overall industry barometer, is down 9.8% for the week. As for specific airlines, Delta is down 3.77%, United down 4.25%, Southwest down 10.36%. American Airlines escaped the worst, shedding a relatively low 0.47% of its stock value.
The website quoted Truist analyst Gregory Miller, who said that, since the April 2 announcement on tariffs, travel companies have told him they expect U.S. travelers will be staying within U.S. borders, adding, “It is increasingly evident that some potential travelers to the U.S. are vacationing elsewhere,” not good news for the larger legacy airlines.
