Airlines Slaughtered on Iraq and Oil

The air carriers’ profits are tied closely to how much they have to pay for fuel, and the sharp increase of nearly 3.5% so far this week has toppled shares today, with all airlines down from about 4% to around 8% in the late afternoon. Here’s the current score:

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) is down 7.5% at $39.10 in a 52-week range of $15.28 to $44.43.

Delta Air Lines Co. (NYSE: DAL) is down 6% at $92.78 in a 52-week range of $50.31 to $100.98.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) is down 5% at $9.90 in a 52-week range of $5.95 to $10.63.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is down 4.9% at $25.62 in a 52-week range of $12.58 to $27.70.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) s down 7% at $42.05 in a 52-week range of $27.32 to $49.20.

All these stocks were trading very near their 52-week highs before today, but the unrest in Iraq has put an end to that.

U.S. airlines had a tough first quarter with thousands of flights cancelled due to severe winter weather. United Continental took the biggest hit, posting a quarterly loss of $609 million of which a third was attributed to weather-related flight cancellations, but every airline was affected. A spike in fuel prices, even this late in the second quarter, will hurt airlines’ results for the current quarter as well.

ALSO READ: What Civil War in Iraq Means for Defense Firms and Oil