JetBlue pulls earnings outlook amid tariff uncertainty, following American and Delta

Tue, Apr 29, 2025, 10:50 AM 3 min read

JetBlue shares sank 2% in early trading on Tuesday after the carrier pulled its guidance, echoing American (AAL), Delta (DAL), and Southwest (LUV), as the impact of the Trump administration's trade war seeps into travel demand.

"Given the macroeconomic uncertainty, we are not re-affirming our prior full-year guidance,” said JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty in the company's first quarter earnings release. The company reported a loss of $208 million, or $0.59 per share, which was slightly below Wall Street's expectation of a loss of $0.63 per share.

JetBlue president Marty St. George said the airline saw booking strength from January deteriorate into February and worsen into March.

"We expect softened demand for off-peak travel to continue into the second quarter, where the booking curve is more exposed to macro uncertainty and deteriorating consumer confidence," St. George said.

JetBlue stock declined more than 3% in early trading.

Read more about JetBlue's stock moves and today's market action.

The airline, which had already been adjusting its capacity coming into the first quarter, said it is considering more capacity reductions, cost savings, and changes to its fleet retirement schedule to boost profitability.

JetBlue's commentary echoes its rivals that have also pulled their guidance recently, including Delta.

"The level of uncertainty that we're facing coming out of the global trade discussions and skirmishes is a bit unprecedented," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance earlier this month.

Last week, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan also cited "economic uncertainty" as the company's reason for not reiterating its full-year 2025 or 2026 guidance.

"We were highly impacted on the demand side by the tariffs and the consumer confidence erosion," Jordan told Yahoo Finance on Thursday morning.

On Thursday, American Airlines withdrew its full-year guidance, citing weak "main cabin" domestic travel demand.

"Where there's significant weakness [is] in our main cabin demand — significant weakness among our most discretionary travelers," American Airlines vice chair and chief strategy officer Steve Johnson said. "Looking forward, it is really hard to predict what bookings will look like."

The major airlines still saw strength in their international and premium segments.

However, the number of foreign travelers coming into the US has been trending lower. Wall Street analysts are attributing that to the ongoing tariff trade war.