Economic Fears Shave $4 Billion Off American Air’s Market Value

(Bloomberg) -- The growing pessimism about global economic growth has found an unlikely victim in American Airlines Group Inc.

The U.S. carrier lost nearly one third of its market value, or about $4.3 billion, over the past 30 trading days through Tuesday, amid concerns about a widespread slowdown, as well as the company’s myriad labor and operational challenges.

Growth in the airline industry is typically linked strongly to the economy, with the group usually moving in tandem with gross domestic product data. Apart from the macro concerns, the impact of the Boeing crisis that prompted the grounding of all 737 Max jets after two fatal crashes and lingering protests in Hong Kong have also weighed on the carriers this year.

“This represents American’s second such post-merger decline, coming five years after the Ebola ‘crisis,’” JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker wrote in a note to clients, adding that the decline was surprising. The analyst blamed a combination of economic anxiety, concern over the company’s debt burden and labor troubles for the rout.

Baker also noted that since 1993, the market has consistently been “proven mistaken when delivering this level of shellacking to Continental/United, while those brave enough to step in have consistently been rewarded.” United and Continental merged in 2010, while American combined with U.S. Airways in 2013.

While American was pummeled, its peers held up pretty well. When American’s stock dropped 29% over the 30-trading day period, United Airlines Holding Inc. dropped 13%, Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 11% and Southwest Airlines Co. declined 5.2%.

To contact the reporter on this story: Esha Dey in New York at edey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Bissell-Linsk

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