A United Airlines airplane proceeds to a runway at Newark Liberty International Airport in front of the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on December 4, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
United Airlines forecast first-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ estimates as the carrier seeks to grow earnings again in 2025 thanks to strong travel demand.
The airline said Tuesday that it expects to earn an adjusted 75 cents to $1.25 in the first three months of the year, above the 54 cents analysts had expected, according to LSEG estimates.
United’s stock is up more than 180% over the past 12 months as of Tuesday’s close, more than any other U.S. carrier.
Here is what United reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, based on estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $3.26 adjusted vs. $3.00 expected
- Revenue: $14.70 billion vs. $14.47 billion expected
For full-year 2025, United expects to grow adjusted earnings to $11.50 to $13.50, in line with expectations of about $12.82, according to LSEG.
United and rival Delta have benefited from strong demand for pricier seats like in business class, international travel and their massive loyalty programs. Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, earlier this month said he expects 2025 to be the carrier’s “best financial year in our history.”
United reported a $985 million profit for the fourth quarter, up 64% over last year, on $14.70 billion in revenue, which was up about 8% from a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, United reported $3.26 a share for the fourth quarter, also ahead of expectations.
Loyalty program revenue, as well as international, domestic and basic economy-class revenue all rose from a year earlier and unit revenue, which measures pricing power, turned positive over the same quarter of 2023.
United CEO Scott Kirby said he was upbeat about President Donald Trump‘s new administration and said that airlines need improvements to air traffic control, echoing sentiments from other industry CEOs like Delta’s Bastian.
“I have talked to the president, and we had a great call,” Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday. “He knows a lot about airplanes and the airspace.”
He said he also spoke with Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy, who had a mostly friendly confirmation hearing in a Senate panel last week.
United and other airlines have faced delivery delays of new aircraft from Airbus and, to a greater degree, Boeing, whose new CEO Kelly Ortberg, is tasked with stamping out production defects that have slowed output.
United’s CFO, Mike Leskinen, said during the earnings call Wednesday that Boeing is making progress and that the airline has become more “bullish” on the long-delayed and yet-to-be-certified Boeing Max 10, the largest model in the single-aisle Max family.
A year ago, United said it was working on fleet plans without the Max 10. It had previously expected to start flying them in 2020.
