Key insights
- Clear Secure (YOU) stock has risen due to increased demand for its airport security service amid long TSA lines. JP Morgan analysts suggest demand may remain high despite improving TSA worker callout rates. The stock's performance is tied to travel disruptions and perceived value of expedited security screening.
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Long security lines at the airport have powered a stock-market winner you might not have heard of.
Analysts at JP Morgan in a recent note said that while Transportation Security Administration workers' callout rates have started to improve since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay TSA agents, they remain elevated. That could keep demand for Clear running high, the analysts said, though downloads of the app have likely peaked.
As frustrated travelers have contended with longer-than-usual wait times—and Americans have been assaulted by horror stories about the lines in the news and on social media—amid a partial government shutdown, Clear Secure (YOU), which operates the Clear screening system, has been a steady gainer. The stock, up more than 3% on Monday, is up about 40% this year, with most of that coming after the shutdown began in mid-February.
Clear's membership program, which promises shorter lines at the airport by speeding up the identity verification part of the process, costs $209 a year. At airports where it's offered, members can move to the front of the TSA's ID screening lines, ahead of any other passengers without Clear—and including those with TSA PreCheck.
TSA PreCheck does offer other perks that can speed up parts of the process. For instance, you don't have to remove shoes, belts and laptops in security with PreCheck; You can also get TSA PreCheck bundled with Clear at no extra cost when you sign up. On its own, TSA PreCheck can cost as much as $85 for a new five-year membership. (Some credit cards include benefits and discounts associated with these services.)
Clear did not respond to Investopedia's request for comment in time for publication.
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