United Airlines ( NASDAQ: UAL ) shares gained altitude in Tuesday’s extended session after topping analyst estimates for the third quarter and signaling continued confidence through year-end.
For the third quarter, the airline reported a 13.2% jump in revenue from the same quarter in 2019 to $12.9B alongside $2.81 in adjusted-diluted EPS. Analysts had anticipated $12.74B and $2.28, respectively. Nearly 39M customers traveled on United flights in the quarter, reaching 90% of pre-pandemic volume.
“The company believes there are three durable trends for air travel demand that are more than fully offsetting any economic headwinds: air travel is still in the COVID recovery phase, hybrid work gives customers the freedom and flexibility to travel for leisure more often, and external supply challenges will limit industry supply for years to come,” the company said on Tuesday.
The air carrier also slated fourth quarter demand and pricing trends to remain strong, with fourth quarter adjusted operating margin forecasted to rise above 2019 levels for the first time. Other highlights included a best-ever on-time arrival rate for the third quarter, offering the company confidence to expand service to more routes. The airline was the only operator noted as the only major carrier to outperform the third quarter of 2019 in on-time departure and on-time arrival performance.
"I am grateful to United employees who delivered an incredible performance this quarter taking care of our customers and producing, by most metrics, the best operational quarter in our history," CEO Scott Kirby said. "Despite growing concerns about an economic slowdown, the ongoing COVID recovery trends at United continue to prevail and we remain optimistic that we'll continue to deliver strong financial results in the fourth quarter, 2023 and beyond."
Shares of United Airlines ( UAL ) rose 7.81% in after hours trading on Tuesday.
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United Airlines shares soar on earnings beat, Q4 optimism