Press Release|Public Finance

KBRA Releases Research – Blanket Negative Sector Outlook on U.S. Airports Harms the Market

13 May 2025   |   New York

Contacts

KBRA releases research following the recent assignment of a negative sector outlook to the U.S. airport sector by Moody’s. While the announcement was largely based on current macroeconomic headwinds, KBRA believes that municipal bond investors are best served by issuer-specific credit analysis that takes into account the meaningful differences in financial, operational, and strategic profiles that distinguish individual airport issuers.

Key Takeaways

  • Airport credit profiles require tailored analysis based on each airport’s strengths and weaknesses, considering how macroeconomic volatility affects issuers differently relative to size, location, revenue composition, and management capability.
  • The post-pandemic performance of U.S. airports demonstrates that most management teams are highly skilled, responsive to extreme adversity, and adopt a long-term view of macroeconomic cycles.
  • Investors benefit from credit differentiation; one-size-fits-all assessments can distort investor perceptions and increase borrowing costs for issuers across the U.S. airport sector.

Click here to view the report.

About KBRA

KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

Doc ID: 1009407

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