S&P Downgrades JetBlue Deeper into Junk, Citing High Fuel Costs
Summary
S&P has downgraded JetBlue's credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'B-', pushing the airline further into speculative-grade territory. This move, attributed to high jet fuel costs hindering recovery, follows a similar downgrade by Fitch Ratings in April and the company's reported $319 million net loss for Q1 2026. The downgrade signals increased financial risk and will likely result in higher borrowing costs for JetBlue, complicating its efforts to improve profitability.
At the time of this announcement, JBLU was trading at $4.75 on NASDAQ in the Energy & Transportation sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.8B. The 52-week trading range was $3.84 to $6.50. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.