Southwest Airlines has lowered its guidance for 2025, citing the impact on revenue from the US government shutdown that ran from the start of October through mid-November.
The company now expects a full-year EBIT result of around $500 million, down from its previous guidance of $600-$800 million.
The airline said higher fuel prices also led to the lower EBIT guidance.
“Following the temporary decline in demand related to the shutdown, bookings have returned to previous expectations,” Southwest said.
This follows a similar statement from Delta Air Lines, which said the shutdown had hit its fourth quarter pre-tax profitability by around $200 million, or 25 cents of earnings per share. The airline also shared that bookings had normalised after the shutdown ended.
American Airlines hasn't yet provided an update on the impact, but CFO Devon May noted on Wednesday that the company will “see how the next couple of weeks go” before it updates the market.
Southwest had beat expectations in the third quarter, posting a surprising $54 million net profit. While down 19.4% from the same period a year prior, the result exceeded Wall Street expectations.