American Airlines: A Bumpy Ride Ahead?

American Airlines has just shared its 2025 financial results, and it's not a pretty picture. The company made only $111 million in profit, which is a huge drop of 87% compared to the previous year. To put it into perspective, Delta and United, the other two major U. S. airlines, made $5 billion and $3. 4 billion respectively. That's a big gap! The numbers don't lie. American's total operating revenue was $54. 6 billion, which is only a tiny increase of 0. 8% from the previous year. But their operating expenses went up by 3%, which is not good news. The number of passengers they carried also dropped, with a passenger load factor of 83. 6%, down 1. 3% from the previous year. The airline industry had a tough year in 2025, with economic uncertainty in the first half. But American was already struggling to keep up with Delta and United. So, when things got worse, American was in a tough spot. The only bright spot is that American is predicting a better 2026. They expect to make between $1. 70 and $2. 70 per share. But these predictions are always tricky. Airline executives have some wiggle room because so many outside events can impact performance.American's CEO, Robert Isom, says the airline is positioned for significant growth in 2026 and beyond. He talks about investments in customer experience, network, fleet, partnerships, and loyalty programs. But these are the same things he's been saying for years. It's always about how American is positioning itself for the future, not what it has accomplished. Isom has been making similar promises for the past few years. In 2024, he talked about achieving important objectives and building a more efficient airline. In 2023, he highlighted the airline's strong performance and focus on reliability. But the numbers don't show much improvement. American claims it has a lot of upside because of its investments in a premium customer experience. But it's not clear how this will set them apart from Delta or United. The airline also talks about maximizing the power of its network and fleet, but it's not clear how this will lead to increased profitability. The battle with United in Chicago is another concern. United's CEO, Scott Kirby, predicts that American will lose $1 billion over the course of the year. This doesn't bode well for American's profitability. Looking back, in 2017, former American CEO Doug Parker said the airline would never lose money again. He predicted profits of around $3 billion even in a bad year. That didn't age well.