United 10-Q: Q3 Net Income $1.03B, $5B Revolver Upsized and Extended to 2031
UAL sits 20% above its 52-week low of $84.642 on elevated volume (2.7× avg).
Summary
United's Q3 10-Q confirms $1.03B net income and $3.14 diluted EPS on $17.9B revenue, with fuel costs up 61.6% eating the revenue gain. The filing also details an October 16 revolver upsize to $5.0B maturing 2031 and $14.7B of liquidity.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · UAL
-
Q3 Net Income $1.03B, EPS $3.14
Revenue rose 17.4% to $17.9B, but operating income grew only 3.6% to $1.45B as fuel costs surged. Diluted EPS was $3.14 versus $2.90 a year ago.
-
Fuel Up 61.6% to $4.8B
Average fuel price jumped 60.3% to $3.90 per gallon; nine-month fuel expense rose 53.3% to $13.0B, the single largest drag on margins.
-
Revolver Raised to $5.0B, Extended to 2031
The October 16 amendment and restatement increased commitments from $3.0B to $5.0B and pushed maturity from February 2029 to October 16, 2031, with no drawings outstanding.
-
Liquidity $14.7B; $6.9B Operating Cash Flow
Unrestricted cash, equivalents and short-term investments totaled $14.7B at September 30, up from $12.2B at year-end, against $5.2B of nine-month capex.
Analysis · UAL · Energy & Transportation
The Q3 headline numbers were already out on October 20, so the new information here is the balance sheet and liquidity detail behind them. Fuel is the story: aircraft fuel expense rose 61.6% to $4.8B in the quarter on a 60.3% jump in price per gallon to $3.90, which is why operating income grew only 3.6% despite 17.4% revenue growth. Against that, United locked in a bigger liquidity backstop — the revolver was amended October 16 to $5.0B from $3.0B and pushed out to October 2031 — and holds $14.7B of unrestricted cash and short-term investments. Nine-month operating cash flow of $6.9B funded $5.2B of capex, and $1.1B of aircraft sale-leaseback gains flattered the $2.5B nine-month net income. The risk is straightforward: with fuel at these levels and the CFO already flagging December capacity cuts, Q4 earnings depend on whether fuel retreats.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 21, 2026, 28.9% of the 1511 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.54%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, UAL was trading at $101.80 on NASDAQ in the Energy & Transportation sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $33B. The 52-week trading range was $84.64 to $138.77. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.