United Airline’s Quarter: Less Crash More Burn

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
United Airline’s Quarter: Less Crash More Burn

© Getty Images / Getty Images

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL | UAL Price Prediction) released second-quarter financial results after markets closed Tuesday. This is easily the worst single quarter that this company has ever experienced. The results tell the tale of the tape.

Before earnings, perhaps the most important number in this report is cash burn. According to United, the cash burn during the second quarter averaged $40 million a day, including $3 million of principal payments and severance expenses.

Looking ahead, United expects an average daily cash burn of roughly $25 million during the third quarter, including $6 million of principal repayments and severance expenses.

In terms of the earnings or in this case loss, the airline said that it had a net loss of $5.79 per share and $1.48 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $9.02 in EPS and $1.32 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, United reported $4.21 in EPS and $11.4 billion in revenue.

Total operating revenues were down 87.1% year over year on an 87.8% decrease in capacity. The company’s liquidity as of Monday, July 20, was approximately $15.2 billion and the liquidity at the end of the third quarter is expected to be $18 billion.

[nativounit]

In terms of its segments, United reported as follows:

  • Passenger revenue decreased by 93.5% to $681 million.
  • Cargo revenue increased 36% to $402 million.
  • Other operating revenues decreased by 36.9% to $392 million.

United issued no guidance in the release outside of cash burn. Consensus estimates are calling for a net loss of $5.80 per share and $3.25 billion in revenue for the third quarter.

Shares of United Airlines closed Tuesday at $33.07, in a 52-week range of $17.80 to $95.46. The consensus price target is $41.27. Following the announcement, the stock was up 1% at $33.41 in the after-hours session.

[wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618