American Airlines Stock Slumps After Earnings

Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. slumped 3% in premarket trade, after the air carrier reported first-quarter results, and announced a pay increase for crewmembers. Net earnings fell to $234 million, or 46 cents a share, from $700 million, or $1.14 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 61 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 57 cents. Revenue rose to $9.62 billion from $9.44 billion, matching the FacSet consensus. Mainline passenger revenue rose 0.6% to $6.61 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $6.54 billion, but regional passenger revenue growth of 1.7% to $1.55 billion fell well short of expectations of $1.83 billion. The company said it will raise base pay levels for flight attendants and pilots, outside of contract negotiations, to the top of the industry. The stock has lost 0.6% year to date through Wednesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 2.3% and the S&P 500 has climbed 6.6%.