Raphael Stevens

American Airlines last year said it would reverse a business-travel sales strategy that backfired.
The airline signed a new credit card deal with Citi late last year.

An American Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner departs from Los Angeles International Airport en route to Tokyo on September 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. 
Kevin Carter | Getty Images

American Airlines’ first-quarter earnings outlook on Thursday fell short of analysts’ estimates, sending shares down more than 8%.
The carrier forecast an adjusted loss per share of 20 cents to 40 cents for the first three months of 2025 based on current demand trends and fuel-price forecast, a wider loss than the 4 cents analysts were expecting, according to LSEG.

The airline said it expects unit costs, excluding fuel, to rise in the low-single digit percentage points over the first quarter of 2024 driven by lower capacity, which it expects to fall as much as 2% over last year; a higher mix of smaller, regional-jet flying; and new labor agreements it finalized last year.
The earnings outlook contrasts with sunnier forecasts from rivals United and Delta earlier this month, though American’s full-year earnings forecast of between $1.70 and $2.70 is in line with analysts’ estimates.
American spent much of the last year reversing a business-travel sales strategy that backfired. However, it also sealed a new credit card deal with its partner Citi. Compensation from its existing deals with Citi and Barclays rose 17% from 2023 to $6.1 billion last year, American said.
“As we look ahead to this year, American remains well-positioned because of the strength of our network, loyalty and co-branded credit card programs, fleet and operational reliability, and the tremendous work of our team,” CEO Robert Isom said in a news release.
American said it expects revenue to be up between 3% to 5% in the first quarter versus the same period in 2024 and up as much as 7.5% for the full year compared with 2024.

Here is how American performed in the fourth quarter compared with Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 86 cents adjusted vs. 64 cents
Revenue: $13.66 billion vs. $13.40 billion expected

American’s fourth-quarter profit rose to $590 million from $19 million on sales that were up 4.6% on the year to $13.66 billion. Both domestic and international revenue rose, led by a surge in trans-Pacific revenue. More

General Motors on Thursday revealed a new $80,000 performance version of its all-electric Cadillac Lyriq.
The Lyriq-V, part of Cadillac’s V-Series performance vehicles, is expected to assist the brand in achieving a target of becoming the top-selling luxury EV name this year in the U.S., excluding Tesla.

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

DETROIT – General Motors on Thursday revealed a new $80,000 performance version of its all-electric Cadillac Lyriq, as the Detroit automaker targets becoming the top-selling luxury EV brand this year in the U.S.
Cadillac expects to achieve that target with an expanding lineup of electric vehicles such as the performance Lyriq-V, Escalade IQ SUV and upcoming entry-level Optiq crossover.

“We are going to position Cadillac to be the bestselling luxury EV nameplate in the U.S. for 2025. Again, let me repeat that: bestselling luxury EV [brand] in 2025,” Cadillac Vice President John Roth said during a media briefing. “The sky’s the limit on what we’re going to be able to do in the luxury EV space.”
But the “luxury” space may not be as clear as it appears. Cadillac, following Roth’s comments, said it is not including Tesla as a “luxury” manufacturer, despite several products being priced in the same range as some of Cadillac’s offerings. A brand spokeswoman said Cadillac is including names such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz and others as its core competitors.

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

“There’s a handful of models within the Tesla lineup that probably qualify as luxury, but they continue to do some interesting elements with the brand,” Roth said.
Excluding Tesla, which leads the U.S. EV market by a wide margin, Cox Automotive reports Cadillac’s nearly 30,000 EVs sold last year trailed only BMW’s roughly 51,000 units. Audi and Mercedes-Benz were also close to Cadillac. That compares with estimated U.S. sales of EVs by Tesla at more than 633,000 EVs last year, according to Cox.
Historically, the automotive industry has been made of “mainstream” brands such as Chevrolet and luxury ones such as Cadillac. But many brands, including Cadillac and Tesla, now offer vehicles across a broad price range.

Tesla’s pricing ranges from roughly $42,500 for the Model 3 sedan to roughly $100,000 for vehicles such as the Cybertruck and Model S Plaid. That compares with Cadillac’s EVs that, once available, are expected to range between $54,000 for the Optiq to more than $150,000 for the Escalade IQ. Cadillac also offers a more than $300,000 bespoke car called the Celestiq.

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

For context, Kelley Blue Book reports the average transaction price for a new electric vehicle to end last year was $55,544. That does not include consumer EV incentives such as the federal tax credit of up to $7,500.
Cadillac is expected to have five EVs on sale by the end of this year, up from three currently. That would match Tesla on the number of EVs from the brand, but Tesla was still estimated to achieve nearly 50% of EV market share last year in the U.S.
Regarding the Lyriq-V, Cadillac said the vehicle will have an estimated 615 horsepower, 650 foot-pounds of torque and 285-mile range when fully charged. It’s expected to achieve 0-60 mph in as little as 3.3 seconds.
The Lyriq is Cadillac’s first production EV to be included in its performance V-Series lineup of vehicles. The Lyrq-V is largely similar to the regular model, but includes unique badging and enhanced performance parts and other accessories to improve driving dynamics.
GM said the Lyriq-V, starting at $79,995, will be sold in the U.S., Canada and other countries, with production starting in early 2025 at GM’s Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Tennessee.

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