United Airlines Q4 and Full Year EPS Beat Wall Street Expectations, With Full Year EPS Up Year-Over-Year
Delivered FY25 diluted earnings per share of $10.20 up 8% year-over-year; adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $10.62 up year-over-year and expects to be the only U.S. airline to grow adjusted EPS1 for FY25Q4 diluted earnings per share of $3.19; adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $3.10 — within initial guidance range of $3.00 to $3.50Q4 revenue of $15.4 billion was the highest quarterly revenue in United history and highest quarterly unit revenue for 2025Flew a record 181 million passengers and ranked #2 in on-time departures for the year, with the lowest seat cancellation rate in company historyUnited continues to win brand-loyal customers with new and updated aircraft and investments in infrastructure and technologyEclipsed 5,000 peak daily flights in summer 2025 and grew faster than any other U.S. airline in 2025 while setting a fourth-quarter company record for Net Promoter Score, including United's highest-ever monthly NPS in November despite the government shutdownCHICAGO, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines (UAL) today reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and were within guidance. The airline's diluted earnings per share of $10.20 and adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $10.62 for 2025 rose versus 2024.The company delivered full-year pre-tax earnings of $4.3 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 7.3%, and adjusted pre-tax earnings1 of $4.6 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin1 of 7.8%. Total operating revenue for the year grew 3.5% year-over-year to $59.1 billion — the highest in United history. The company generated $8.4 billion of operating cash flow and $2.7 billion in free cash flow1 in 2025, and expects to generate a similar level of free cash flow2 in 2026."Our results are built on winning more and more brand-loyal customers — it's clear they get the most value flying United," said CEO Scott Kirby. "This was the highest-revenue quarter in United's history and the highest quarterly RASM of the year providing strong revenue momentum that is continuing into 2026."Customers continue to benefit from United's growing, reliable operation. United canceled flights at the lowest per-seat rate among U.S. network airlines in 2025 while flying the largest mainline schedule in the airline's history, carrying an average of more than 496,000 passengers daily. United's 303 daily widebody departures in 2025 were the most in its history. United Express logged 134 days without a single cancellation during 2025, and Connection Saver saved more than one million potential missed connections during the year, a 42% increase over 2024.United delivered strong fourth-quarter results despite challenges such as the government shutdown, as brand-loyal customers chose the United experience. Compared to the year ago period, diverse revenue sources continued to grow: premium revenue was up 9% for the fourth quarter and 11% for the full year, loyalty revenue was up 10% for the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year, and revenue from Basic Economy grew 7% for the fourth quarter and 5% for the full year. Strong revenue momentum has continued into 2026. The week ending January 4th was the highest flown revenue week in United history, and the week ending January 11th was the highest ticketing week and the highest week for business sales in United history.The government shutdown in November provided an opportunity to do the right thing by our customers and further build their trust. United offered all customers a full refund — even if their flights weren't canceled — and aggressively promoted that policy in customer communications including on a dedicated page on the corporate website, and within contact centers. Customers noticed: November was United's highest-ever monthly Net Promoter Score. Our customer-first policies, combined with the impact to bookings and costs, led to an approximately $250 million impact to pre-tax earnings in the quarter.Fast and free for MileagePlus® members, Starlink Wi-Fi is now installed on nearly all of the dual-cabin United Express fleet, more than 300 aircraft, with completion expected later this month. Starlink installations have begun on mainline aircraft and are expected to accelerate rapidly during 2026.In 2026 United plans to enhance the customer experience as it plans to take delivery of over 100 narrowbody aircraft and approximately 20 Boeing 787 aircraft – more widebody aircraft in a year than any U.S. passenger airline since 1988. United plans to use these new aircraft to profitably expand its network, including its industry-leading international routes and growing domestic network. The airline also plans on making significant airport upgrades at its Washington Dulles and Houston hubs.Fourth-Quarter Financial ResultsCapacity up 6.5% compared to fourth-quarter 2024.Total operating revenue of $15.4 billion, up 4.8% compared to fourth-quarter 2024.Total Revenue Per Available Seat Mile (TRASM) down (1.6)% compared to fourth-quarter 2024.CASM down (0.3)%, and CASM-ex1 up 0.4%, compared to fourth-quarter 2024.Pre-tax earnings of $1.3 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 8.6%; adjusted pre-tax earnings1 of $1.3 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin1 of 8.5%.Impact from the government shutdown was approximately $250 million of pre-tax earnings in the fourth-quarter 2025.Net income of $1 billion; adjusted net income1 of $1 billion.Diluted earnings per share of $3.19; adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $3.10.Average fuel price per gallon of $2.49.Repurchased $29 million of shares in the fourth quarter 2025.Full-Year Financial ResultsPre-tax earnings of $4.3 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 7.3%; adjusted pre-tax earnings1 of $4.6 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin1 of 7.8%.Net income of $3.4 billion; adjusted net income1 of $3.5 billion.Diluted earnings per share of $10.20; adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $10.62.Ending available liquidity3 of $15.2 billion.Total debt, including finance lease obligations and other financial liabilities of $25 billion at year end.Net leverage4 of 2.2x.Generated $8.4 billion of operating cash flow.Generated $2.7 billion of free cash flow1.Repurchased $640 million of shares in full year 2025.Key Highlights Operated the largest mainline schedule in company history in the fourth quarter and full year, carrying an average of over 496,000 passengers daily and averaging 303 widebody departures per day in 2025. United achieved its lowest seat cancel rate in history and had the lowest seat cancel rate of large network U.S. carriers.In 2025 United added 82 new aircraft and updated 119 aircraft to its Signature Interior, bringing the total to 68% of its narrowbody fleet. The NPS for United's Signature Interior is 10 points higher than on previous interiors.United continued to expand premium offerings throughout 2025, with a record-high 27.4 million premium seats across its fleet, accounting for 12% of all flown seats in 2025. The airline announced United Elevated, its newest interior for the Boeing 787-9, featuring new United Polaris StudioSM suites that are 25% larger than United Polaris® with privacy doors, ottoman for companions, 27-inch screens, and exclusive food and beverage offerings to elevate premium air travel, expected to be available in 2026.Connection Saver saved more than one million potential missed connections in 2025, a 42% increase over 2024.United and its leaders were recognized with more than 70 awards in 2025 for its industry-leading performance in customer experience, innovation, company culture and employment, including being named to Forbes' 2026 list of America's Best Companies and Newsweek's America's Most Trustworthy Companies.Customer Experience Achieved the highest fourth-quarter customer satisfaction score in United history as measured by Net Promoter Score, including its best November NPS ever, despite the government shutdown. For the full year, United achieved its highest NPS since 2022 among on-time passengers, including a seven-point increase in the check-in experience thanks to United's investments in the lobby experience, improved kiosks and the United mobile app.In May, announced United's Blue Sky collaboration with JetBlue, and launched the ability to book across both airlines with miles in October 2025, with the ability to book with money expected in early 2026.United announced its new MileagePlus Debit Rewards Card in November, offering additional ways to earn miles through spending and saving.Launched a collaboration with ride-share app Lyft in the fourth quarter, allowing MileagePlus members to earn up to four miles per dollar spent on eligible rides.During 2025, United enhanced its app with new features including a bag-tracking redesign, live activities on the day of travel, and additional connection information. By the fourth quarter, 85% of customers used the United app on their day of travel. More than half of customers who experienced a cancellation in the fourth quarter effectively resolved their issue using self-service and automated tools.During 2025 United opened its fourth United ClubSM location in Denver and the second Club Fly location in Houston. Additionally, United re-opened a 50% larger United Polaris lounge at Chicago O'Hare and opened a new dining room at Newark's Polaris Lounge for an improved premium international travel experience.United brought TSA PreCheck Touchless ID to Washington Dulles and Houston and expanded usage in San Francisco and Chicago O'Hare in the fourth quarter for a more efficient customer experience. More than 3.5 million customers used this expedited feature in 2025.United upgraded the inflight entertainment experience for customers by adding more than 450 hours of Spotify audio and video content and award-winning, hit series from Apple TV for free on 150,000+ seatback screens. The airline achieved its highest inflight entertainment customer satisfaction scores among on-time passengers.Operations United Express® had a record-setting year, with 134 days of zero cancellations.United's operation at Chicago O'Hare in 2025 outperformed its largest competitor for on-time arrival rates and a lower cancellation rate.In the fourth quarter, began operating out of the fifth additional gate at Chicago O'Hare assigned by the City of Chicago.Finalized deployment of updated check-in kiosks at all stations in 2025 for a more efficient check-in process, cutting an average of one minute per customer for tasks such as check-in, bag check and boarding pass printing.United purchased blended sustainable aviation fuel for use at Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles airports in 2025, growing its SAF use to six hubs.NetworkUnited carried more than 181 million revenue passengers in 2025, beginning service on 29 domestic and Canadian routes and adding 13 new international destinations to its industry-leading network.United continued to expand its industry-leading international network in 2025 including new flights that made it the only U.S. airline to serve Bangkok, Thailand; Adelaide, Australia; Tepic, Mexico; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Announced plans to inaugurate service to Bari, Italy; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Glasgow, Scotland; and Split, Croatia in 2026. United also plans new routes from Newark to Seoul, South Korea; and Washington-Dulles to Reykjavik, Iceland.Employees, Communities and InvestmentsTogether with MileagePlus members, United donated nearly 32 million miles to non-profit organizations around the world in the fourth quarter, including organizations providing relief to areas affected by Typhoons Tino and Uwan and Hurricane Melissa.In the fourth quarter, United carried 85 tons of aid and mobilized nearly 400 responders, providing $1.3 million in transportation savings to 49 NGOs globally, in addition to supporting 22 response and recovery programs in 14 countries including regions impacted by Hurricane Melissa and the Pacific Northwest floods. United also provided $225,000 to local food bank partners during the quarter.More than 10,000 United employees volunteered more than 33,000 hours in 2025 through their business resource groups for employee development and community.In 2025, United grew its Special Olympics Service Ambassador program to six of its hubs, with 24 active ambassadors supporting customers.United Airlines Ventures, which invests in start-ups developing innovative technologies advancing the aviation industry, announced investments in aerospace companies JetZero and AstroMechanica and travel experience and customer engagement companies Dfinitiv and Mindtrip.Earnings CallUAL will hold a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results, as well as its financial and operational outlook for the first-quarter 2026 and beyond, on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. CST/10:30 a.m. EST. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available at ir.united.com. The webcast will be available for replay within 24 hours of the conference call and then archived on the website.OutlookThis press release should be read in conjunction with the company's Investor Update issued in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement, which provides additional information on the company's business outlook (including certain financial and operational guidance) and is furnished with this press release to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Investor Update is also available at ir.united.com. Management will also discuss certain business outlook items, including providing certain first quarter and full year 2026 financial targets, during the quarterly earnings conference call.The company's business outlook is subject to risks and uncertainties applicable to all forward-looking statements as described elsewhere in this press release. Please see the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."About United At United, Good Leads The Way. With hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers, and is now the largest airline in the world. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".Website and Social Media InformationWe routinely post important news and information regarding United on our corporate website, www.united.com, and our investor relations website, ir.united.com. We use our investor relations website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to our investors, including the timing of future investor conferences and earnings calls, press releases and other information about financial performance (including financial guidance), reports filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, information on corporate governance and details related to our annual meeting of shareholders. We may use our investor relations website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information (including financial guidance) and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. We encourage investors, the media and others interested in the company to visit this website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. We may also use social media channels to communicate with our investors and the public about our company and other matters, and those communications could be deemed to be material information. Our executive officers may also use certain social media channels, such as X and LinkedIn, to communicate information about earnings results and company updates, which may be of interest to our investors or could be deemed to be material information. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website or social media channels are not incorporated by reference into, and are not a part of, this document.Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:This press release and the related attachments and Investor Update (as well as the oral statements made with respect to information contained in this release and the attachments) contain certain "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, relating to, among other things, goals, plans and projections regarding the company's financial position, results of operations, capital allocation and investments, market position, airline capacity, fleet plan strategy, fares, announced routes (which may be subject to government approval), booking trends, product development, corporate citizenship-related strategy initiatives and business strategy. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, known or unknown, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond the company's control and could cause the company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Words such as "should," "could," "would," "will," "may," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," "targets," "pledge," "confident," "optimistic," "dedicated," "positioned," "on track", "path" and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. All statements, other than those that relate solely to historical facts, are forward-looking statements.Additionally, forward-looking statements include conditional statements and statements that identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of known trends or uncertainties, or that indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation.Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: execution risks associated with our strategic operating plan; changes in our fleet and network strategy or other factors outside our control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into aircraft orders on less favorable terms, as well as any inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned, including as a result of any mandatory groundings of aircraft; any failure to effectively manage, and receive anticipated benefits and returns from, acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures and other portfolio actions, or related exposures to unknown liabilities or other issues or underperformance as compared to our expectations; adverse publicity, increased regulatory scrutiny, harm to our brand, reduced travel demand, potential tort liability and operational restrictions as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving us, our regional carriers, our codeshare partners or another airline; the highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity, including as a result of alliances, joint business arrangements or other consolidations; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers to source a majority of our aircraft, engines and certain parts, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers; disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers; unfavorable economic and political conditions in the United States and globally; reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any significant failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in our relationships with these providers or their provision of services; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate and space, facility and infrastructure constraints at our hubs or other airports (including as a result of government shutdowns); geopolitical conflict, terrorist attacks or security events (including the suspension of our overflying in Russian airspace as a result of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and interruptions of our flying as a result of the military conflicts in the Middle East and South America, as well as any escalation of the broader economic consequences of any conflicts beyond their current scope or a delay in any planned resumption of service to area impacted by conflict); any damage to our reputation or brand image; our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, these technologies or systems; increasing privacy, data security and cybersecurity obligations or a significant data breach; increased use of social media platforms by us, our employees and others; the impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions or regulatory compliance costs on our operations or financial performance; any failure to attract, train or retain skilled personnel, including our senior management team or other key employees; the monetary and operational costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry; current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or agreement relating to these actions; costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change; high and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel; the impacts of our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and the impacts of insufficient liquidity on our financial condition and business; failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing our debt; limitations on our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes; our failure to realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments; fluctuations in the price of our common stock; the impacts of seasonality, and other factors associated with the airline industry; increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage; risks relating to our repurchase program for shares of common stock and certain warrants exercisable for common stock; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and under "Economic and Market Factors" and "Governmental Actions" in Part I, Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Non-GAAP Financial Information:In discussing financial results and guidance, the company refers to financial measures that are not in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). The non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial measures presented in this press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and are presented because management believes that they supplement or enhance management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of the company's underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past and future periods. Non-GAAP financial measures typically have exclusions or adjustments that include one or more of the following characteristics, such as being highly variable, difficult to project, unusual in nature, significant to the results of a particular period or not indicative of past or future operating results. These items are excluded because the company believes they neither relate to the ordinary course of the company's business nor reflect the company's underlying business performance.Because the non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered superior to and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP financial measures presented in the press release and may not be the same as or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in method and in the items being adjusted. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. The company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking measures where the company believes such a reconciliation would imply a degree of precision and certainty that could be confusing to investors and is unable to reasonably predict certain items contained in the GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing or amount of various items that have not yet occurred and are out of the company's control or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures provided without the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures may vary materially from the corresponding GAAP financial measures.Please refer to the tables accompanying this release for a description of the non-GAAP adjustments and reconciliations of the historical non-GAAP financial measures used to the most comparable GAAP financial measure and related disclosures.Change in Presentation: In the first quarter of 2025, the Company changed its rounding presentation to the nearest whole number in millions of reported amounts, except per share data or as otherwise designated. As such, certain columns and rows within the financial statements and tables presented may not sum due to rounding. Per unit amounts have been calculated from the underlying whole-dollar amounts. This change is not material and does not impact the comparability of our condensed consolidated financial statements.-tables attached- UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) Three Months Ended December 31,%Increase/(Decrease) Year Ended December 31,%Increase/(Decrease)(In millions, except for percentage changes and per share data)2025202420252024Operating revenue:Passenger revenue$ 13,926$ 13,2754.9$ 53,438$ 51,8293.1Cargo490521(6.0)1,7791,7432.1Other operating revenue9818999.13,8533,49110.4Total operating revenue15,39714,6954.859,07057,0633.5Operating expense:Salaries and related costs4,5244,3254.617,64716,6785.8Aircraft fuel2,9232,6769.211,39611,756(3.1)Landing fees and other rent1,01390112.43,8493,43712.0Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs91980913.63,2943,0637.5Depreciation and amortization748759(1.4)2,9392,9280.4Regional capacity purchase6816682.02,6932,5167.0Distribution expenses5715513.52,1092,231(5.5)Aircraft rent794576.425219330.4Special charges(8)68NM259112NMOther operating expenses2,5602,3907.19,9199,0539.6Total operating expense14,01113,1926.254,35651,9674.6Operating income1,3861,503(7.8)4,7135,096(7.5)Nonoperating income (expense):Interest expense(324)(369)(12.1)(1,373)(1,629)(15.7)Interest income137172(20.1)611726(15.9)Interest capitalized54532.4206227(9.3)Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net13(39)NM4(199)NMMiscellaneous, net59(13)NM144(53)NMTotal nonoperating expense, net(61)(196)(68.8)(408)(928)(56.1)Income before income taxes1,3251,3071.44,3064,1683.3Income tax expense281322(12.7)9531,019(6.5)Full story available on Benzinga.com
