By Callum Keown
Delta, United and other airline stocks were falling early Monday as investors assessed President Donald Trump's call for a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates.
Airlines make billions of dollars in revenue each year from co-branded credit cards. Delta said it received $2 billion from American Express in the third quarter alone, up 12% year-over-year, driven by co-branded card growth.
American Express stock fell 5% Monday and was one of the worst-hit names in the S&P 500--behind only Synchrony and Capital One. Delta fell 2.6% early Monday.
United, which partners with JPMorgan Chase, was down 1%, while American Airlines -- partnered with Citi -- slipped 1.8%.
"Effective January 20, 2026 I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%," Trump wrote Friday in a post on social-media platform Truth Social.
However, analysts view the chances of Trump's plan advancing as unlikely.
Trump does not have the authority to implement such a cap -- it would require Congress approval, Raymond James Washington policy analyst Ed Mills said in a note Sunday. "The legislative risk remains relatively low, but clearly higher now that the president has called for this action," he added.
Jefferies analyst John Hecht said the proposal would likely be "dead on arrival" to Congress, as this type of action has historically lacked support.
With that in mind, the weakness across airline stocks Monday may end up being overdone. Credit-card revenue fears are likely to quickly take a back seat as Delta reports earnings Tuesday, providing a key update on the health of the sector.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2026 11:56 ET (16:56 GMT)
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