United Airlines Tops Profit Expectations, Stays the Course Despite Economic Jitters

United Airlines (UAL, Financials) reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter of 2025. Earnings per share were $0.91, which was higher than the $0.77 that experts had predicted. The earnings were higher than expected by 18.18 percent, and sales rose 5.4% year over year to $13.2 billion, just below the $13.37 billion prediction.

After the earnings report, the company's price went up 1.67%. United said that the gains were due to better results in the luxury class and growth in foreign markets, especially in the Pacific area. International extra income helped make up for a 5% drop in income from the main cabin in the United States.

United stuck to its full-year profit forecast of $11.50 to $13.50 per share, saying that controlling costs and falling fuel prices would help keep things stable in an unsure financial climate. The company thought it would make between $7 and $9 per share in a possible slump.

The airline also talked about the money it has put into infrastructure that customers can see, such as continuing to add Starlink Wi-Fi to all of its planes. By the end of 2025, all regional planes should have been fully updated.

During the quarter, United had $2 billion in free cash flow, which it used to buy back 5.6 million shares at an average price of $80 each. Also, the company paid off $1 billion in debt. This brought its net leverage ratio down from 2.2 times at the end of 2024 to 2.0 times.

Executives said that the airline is still committed to a long-term plan that focuses on making customers loyal to the brand in big cities such as Chicago and Denver. CEO Scott Kirby said that United will be able to keep its revenue leadership even when flying is slower because it has more and more high-yield customers.

United had the second-lowest rate of seat cancellations in its history in Q1 and the best rate of on-time departures among its U.S. peers. The business also said that its loyalty program was working well and that corporate credit card spending was staying the same.

United said that its current capital plans would not change, even though customer confidence is lower and there are risks linked to tariffs. It also said that it would continue to change its domestic capacity based on changes in real-time demand.