American Airlines Group Inc.: Beat — EPS -$0.28, Revenue $16.34B
Earnings BeatQ3 2026 · Pre-market
Did American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) beat earnings today?
Yes, American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) beat Wall Street analyst expectations for Q3 2026, reporting higher-than-expected EPS and higher-than-expected revenue.
Earnings Per Share+22.22% surprise
-$0.28Actual
Expected: -$0.36
vs. year ago -64.7%
Total Revenue+0.77% surprise
$16.34BActual
Expected: $16.21B
vs. year ago +19.3%
Released Oct 22 · 7:00 AM ET
Earning Report
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | YoY Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.34B | $13.69B | +19.3% |
| Revenue detail — reported lines | |||
| └─Passenger | $14.90B | $12.47B | +19.5% |
| └─Cargo | $274.00M | $212.00M | +29.1% |
| └─Other | $1.16B | $1.01B | +15.2% |
| GAAP Basic EPS | $(0.41) | $(0.17) | -141.2% |
| GAAP Diluted EPS | $(0.41) | $(0.17) | -141.2% |
| Adj. Basic EPS | $(0.28) | $(0.17) | -64.7% |
| Adj. Diluted EPS | $(0.28) | $(0.17) | -64.7% |
| Net Loss | $(269M) | $(114M) | - |
| Adj. Net Loss | $(182M) | $(111M) | -63.7% |
Financial Outlook / Guidance
| Metric | 4Q 2026E (vs. 4Q 2025) | FY 2026E |
|---|---|---|
| Available seat miles | +5.5% – +6.5% | — |
| Total revenue | +19.5% – +22.5% | — |
| CASM excluding net special items, fuel and profit sharing | +2.5% – +3.5% | — |
| Adjusted loss per diluted share | ($1.10) – ($0.50) | ($1.60) – ($1.00) |
| Average fuel price | approximately $4.70 per gallon | — |
| Fuel expense | approximately +$2.8B vs. 4Q 2025 | — |
Business Highlights
- ➤Plans to expand Starlink installation across the entire mainline fleet, covering more than 1,000 aircraft.
- ➤Continued growth of Admirals Club and premium lounge network, with extensive openings and renovations.
- ➤Announced seatback entertainment expansion to narrowbody fleet; new deliveries begin in 2028.
- ➤DFW rebank delivered record passenger volumes, fewer misconnections and fewer mishandled bags.
- ➤Plans to expand premium seating through new-aircraft deliveries and existing-aircraft retrofits.
- ➤Narrowbody retrofit program is expected to raise premium seats to 40% in coming years.
- ➤Basic Economy-to-Main Cabin upsell rate increased by 6 points during the quarter.
- ➤Citi co-branded credit-card partnership recorded nearly 10% year-over-year third-quarter card-spend growth.
- ➤Expects nearly $1B in annual run-rate savings and more than $900M in working-capital improvements by year-end 2026.
- ➤Plans to slow 2027 network growth from 2026 levels amid elevated fuel prices.
Management Commentary
Robert Isom, CEO
“American delivered record third-quarter revenue and the strongest year-over-year revenue growth in my career, with premium performance leading the way. The investments we are making across the four pillars of our commercial strategy are working, and we expect another quarter of record revenue growth to close out the year. While historically high fuel prices significantly impacted our financial results, our focus remains on restoring profitability and building a stronger American for the long term. I’m grateful to the American Airlines team for making this progress possible.”
Devon May, Chief Financial Officer
“We remain focused on the factors that drive the most value. Our long-term focus on efficiency supported industry-leading unit cost results in the quarter, with CASM-ex increasing 3.0% year over year. For the full year, we expect to lead the network carriers in the spread between year-over-year unit revenue and CASM-ex growth.”