Bullish indicating open at $55-$60, IPO prices at $37
Investing.com - Shares of United Airlines slipped in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday after the carrier’s third-quarter profit estimate slightly disappointed expectations.
In the quarter ended in September, United projected adjusted earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.75, indicating a midpoint of $2.50. Analysts had anticipated an estimate of $2.60, according to LSEG estimates cited by Reuters.
United flagged that it will incur a 0.9 percentage point to third quarter returns from recent operational issues at Newark airport, one of its major hubs.
Still, executives offered a more broadly upbeat outlook for the rest of 2024, bolstered by signs of accelerating travel activity since the start of July. Overall travel demand has picked up by 6 percentage points and the pace of business bookings has increased in the double digits in the current quarter compared to the same period a year ago -- a trend that United indicated was due to a softening in global trade and geopolitical tensions.
"Importantly, United saw a positive shift in demand beginning in early July, and, like 2024, anticipates another inflection in industry supply in mid-August. The world is less uncertain today than it was during the first six months of 2025 and that gives us confidence about a strong finish to the year," said CEO Scott Kirby in a statement.
Kirby said United saw a “positive shift” in demand beginning in early July, adding that published schedules indicate a fresh industry supply inflection is likely by mid-August, a pattern similar to last year.
United forecast full-year adjusted earnings of $9.00 to $11.00 per share. The midpoint is roughly in line with the Street’s $10.16 estimate.
In its second quarter, revenue came in at $15.2 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $15.36 billion. Adjusted earnings per share stood at $3.87, beating estimates by 6 cents, in line with company guidance and above the prior year.
"This outcome was impressive given an approximate $0.50 EPS hit from Newark disruption as well as canceled Tel Aviv flights from the Middle East tensions," analysts at BofA Securities said in a note.
(Pratyush Thakur contributed reporting.)