New York, Jan 13, 2026, 14:28 EST — Regular session
- Shares of American Airlines dropped 3.5% amid a broader sell-off in U.S. airline stocks.
- Investors are debating if a proposed 10% limit on credit-card interest rates will crimp the rewards structures that drive airline loyalty profits.
- American scheduled its quarterly results call for Jan. 27, the same day a U.S. safety board will hold a hearing on a fatal 2025 collision.
Shares of American Airlines Group dropped 3.5% to $15.44 in Tuesday’s afternoon session, lagging a softer airline sector following Delta’s latest forecast and new concerns over credit-card economics. Delta slid roughly 3%, United dropped about 1.4%, and Southwest lost around 1%.
This shift is significant because airline investors have been relying more on “non-ticket” revenue—mainly loyalty programs linked to co-branded credit cards that offer points and miles. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose a one-year cap of 10% on credit-card interest rates, starting Jan. 20, has cast a spotlight on that income stream. Analysts, however, note the cap would need legislation and is unlikely to pass. (Reuters)
JPMorgan executives cautioned that the proposal might lead lenders to tighten credit. “It would be very bad for consumers, very bad for the economy,” JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said on Tuesday’s earnings call, noting the bank would need to reduce the credit it provides. (Reuters)
The airline angle revolves around the rewards system: points and miles rely in part on interest and fees that card issuers collect, so any shifts there can ripple into how aggressively banks purchase airline miles. Tiffany Funk, co-founder of flight rewards platform point.me, warned that a rate cap might spark “a chaotic contraction of the rewards ecosystem,” leading to fewer cards, higher fees, and weaker rewards. (Investopedia)
Delta’s latest report added pressure to the sector. The airline projects roughly 20% earnings growth in 2026, yet its midpoint profit forecast fell short of analyst estimates. That miss dragged its shares down and weighed on competitors. Delta CEO Ed Bastian noted, “The strength in the consumer sector is at the higher end of the curve,” highlighting a reliance on premium and corporate travelers as demand for main-cabin seats remained weak. (Reuters)
American announced it will webcast its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call on Jan. 27 at 7:30 a.m. Central time. The event is structured as a conference call with analysts and journalists, offering a public listen-only webcast. (GlobeNewswire)
On that day, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing to pinpoint the likely cause of the January 2025 crash involving an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter, which claimed 67 lives, Reuters reports. (Reuters)
Investors are wrestling with whether premium demand can sustain the sector amid patchy price-sensitive travel, and if loyalty profits will hold steady as Washington tightens rules on credit-card pricing. These two narratives are now clashing in the tape.
But the policy headline remains just that — a headline. Without congressional action on a rate cap, the squeeze on “rewards economics” might loosen fast. Should Congress step in, though, card issuers could respond by hiking prices or trimming perks, a blow to airlines that rely more on loyalty-driven cash flow as passenger margins tighten.
American shareholders will turn their attention to Jan. 27, when management delivers the 2025 results and outlook during the morning call. Later, the NTSB hearing looms as a separate yet unavoidable risk on the radar.
