By Mackenzie Tatananni

Staffing shortages within the Transport Security Administration have created friction for passengers, but there's one clear winner emerging from the airport chaos.

It's fair to assume most U.S. travelers have passed a CLEAR+ security line at least once in their lives, or even sailed through one themselves. CLEAR+ is the brainchild of Clear Secure, the operator of a security platform that uses biometrics -- unique features like a passenger's eyes, face, or fingerprint -- to confirm your identity.

Unlike TSA PreCheck, a subscription service offering expedited screening, Clear allows passengers to bypass the traditional ID check line entirely. Another key differentiator has become patently clear: As a private company, Clear is shielded from the staffing shortages among TSA officials, which have contributed to hourslong wait times at airports across the country.

Hundreds of employees have either called out or resigned, according to the TSA, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security. Around 50,000 staffers have been working without pay as a partial government shutdown affecting the DHS enters its second month.

It has been nothing but a headache for passengers, but some analysts believe Clear stands to benefit from a protracted government shutdown and the mayhem that comes with it. Just ask D.A. Davidson's Wyatt Swanson, who reiterated a Buy rating on Clear Secure while raising his price target on the shares to $65 from $54.

Shares ticked 0.5% higher to $54.73 on Thursday. Including those gains, Clear stock has surged 56% this year alone and more than doubled over the past 12 months.

There's more at play than the recent government shutdown, of course. Swanson acknowledged Clear's strong fourth-quarter results, delivered at the end of February, plus a solid current-quarter outlook and a renewed partnership with American Express. The company is targeting first-quarter bookings growth of between 19.7% and 22.1%, compared with the 25.4% growth reported in the final quarter of last year.

Clear already faced a favorable setup heading into the year, and now TSA staff shortages "act as a strong tailwind for Clear+ sign-ups," Swanson wrote, referring to the company's core subscription, which allows passengers to skip the ID check line at dozens of airports.

In Swanson's view, "the shutdown has given Clear an opportunity to hit the ground running by signing up new members during a year when U.S. air travel is already expected to be elevated as a result of the World Cup."

The company has beat consensus views when it comes to Clear+ member estimates by an average of 0.5%, with the largest beat in the first quarter of 2025. "The range of beats ranges from 0.1% above to 0.9% above, and we suspect that Clear can deliver a beat on the higher end of that range as a result of this," Swanson continued.

The higher CLEAR+ member estimates lend themselves to a 1% increase in D.A. Davidson's bookings estimate to $253 million. While this won't have a considerable impact on the firm's full-year estimates, Swanson still believes the stock's multiple "can comfortably expand." The overhang around the partnership renewal with Amex "is behind them for the foreseeable future," the analyst added.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 26, 2026 13:06 ET (17:06 GMT)

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