American Airlines’ results are terrible. Right now, that is great news
Right now, there may be no greater gift for a company than dismal finances.
On Thursday, shares of American Airlines rose almost 30% at the open, reaching an 11-month high. American beat analysts’ profit expectations for the final quarter of 2020: Earnings per share came in at a negative $3.86, whereas the median forecast had them at $4.11.
But that doesn’t explain the pop. What does is that the numbers were still really bad in absolute terms—a $2.2 billion quarterly loss is one of the company’s worst results ever—justifying bearish Wall Street bets against it. In today’s topsy-turvy market, this all but guarantees stock gains.
