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United Airlines

UAL Nasdaq Passenger Airlines Financials FY2016–FY2025

United Airlines' revenue rose 3.5% to $59.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 8.0%, down from 8.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $2.6 billion, down 33.2%. It paid out $637 million in dividends and buybacks, 25% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.4%.

Last close · Oct 23, 2026

$97.93

4.0%
Value it Compare
Revenue Total sales reported in the income statement.
$59.1B
3.5% vs prior year
Operating margin Operating income as a share of revenue.
8.0%
0.9 pts
Net income Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
$3.4B
6.5%
Free cash flow Cash from operations minus capital spending.
$2.6B
33.2%
Return on capital After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
15.3%
0.9 pts
Market cap Last close times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate.
$32.1B
Oct 23 close
P/E Last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters.
9.0x
On $10.92 EPS (TTM)

What United Airlines does

United Airlines flies passengers and cargo across North America and to Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. Its hubs are Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington Dulles and Guam. Smaller regional airlines, such as SkyWest and Republic, fly shorter routes under the United Express name on contract, which lets United serve smaller cities that feed its hubs.

Nearly all of the parent company's revenue comes from the airline. Besides ticket sales, United earns money from carrying freight and mail and from its MileagePlus loyalty program, which sells miles to partners such as Chase, the issuer of its co-branded credit card. Members used about 10.9 million MileagePlus flight awards in 2025. United also sells maintenance, ground handling and flight training to other companies. It competes with other US airlines, which can push it to match discounted fares, and with foreign carriers on international routes.

United belongs to the Star Alliance and runs joint businesses with Air Canada, Lufthansa, ANA and Air New Zealand that share routes and revenue. It had about 113,200 employees at the end of 2025, roughly 83% of them represented by unions.

Legal name
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Fiscal year ends
December 31, 2025
Latest annual report
10-K · Feb 12, 2026
Accession · CIK
0000100517-26-000023
0000100517

Revenue and margins

United Airlines had $59.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 3.5% on the year before.

Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 4.7% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.

Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS

Returns on capital

After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.

Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
Return on capital Return on equity Return on assets

Cash flow

Free cash flow was $2.6B in fiscal 2025, 4.3% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.

Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending

Dividends, buybacks and share count

United Airlines returned $637M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 25% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.4%.

Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)

Value United Airlines yourself

Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.

Discounted cash flow

Value per share

—

Adds net cash of −$9.5B and divides by 328.5M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.

Earnings multiple

Value per share

—

Reference multiples: today 9.0x · peers 13.4x · sector 26.0x.

Balance sheet

Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably United Airlines can carry it.

Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Cash Debt
Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments $18.4B$16.4B$14.4B$14.5B$12.2B
Debt incl. finance leases $33.7B$31.4B$29.3B$24.9B$21.7B
Net debt / EBITDA 10.4x3.1x2.2x1.3x1.2x
Debt / equity 6.7x4.6x3.2x2.0x1.4x
Interest coverage −0.7x1.3x2.2x3.1x3.4x
Current ratio 1.2x1.0x0.8x0.8x0.7x
Quick ratio 1.2x1.0x0.8x0.8x0.7x
Total assets $68.2B$67.4B$71.1B$74.1B$76.4B
Total liabilities $63.1B$60.5B$61.8B$61.4B$61.2B
Shareholders' equity $5.0B$6.9B$9.3B$12.7B$15.3B
Net debt (− = net cash) $15.3B$15.0B$15.0B$10.5B$9.5B

Insider trades

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Bought, 12 months

$0.0M

0 insiders

Sold, 12 months

$40.5M

6 insiders

Of sales under plans

18%

$7.3M

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Aug 25, 2026 Andrew P NocellaEVP & Chief Commercial Officer Sold 5,000 $117.00 $0.6M Form 4
Aug 4, 2026 Andrew P NocellaEVP & Chief Commercial Officer Sold 3,000 $132.30 $0.4M Form 4
Aug 3, 2026 Michael D. LeskinenEVP & Chief Financial Officer Sold plan 10,000 $128.19 $1.3M Form 4
Jul 28, 2026 Andrew P NocellaEVP & Chief Commercial Officer Sold 4,200 $120.48 $0.5M Form 4
Jul 28, 2026 Brett J HartPresident Sold 30,108 $120.72 $3.6M Form 4
Jul 24, 2026 Torbjorn J EnqvistEVP & Chief Operations Officer Sold 20,000 $119.91 $2.4M Form 4
Jul 21, 2026 Kirby J ScottChief Executive Officer, Director Sold 159,321 $118.05 $18.8M Form 4
Jun 16, 2026 Kirby J ScottChief Executive Officer, Director Sold plan 1,078 $120.74 $0.1M Form 4
Jun 15, 2026 Kirby J ScottChief Executive Officer, Director Sold plan 48,303 $121.30 $5.9M Form 4
May 26, 2026 Kate GeboEVP HR and Labor Relations Sold 40,000 $105.42 $4.2M Form 4
May 1, 2026 Andrew P NocellaEVP & Chief Commercial Officer Sold 7,000 $90.19 $0.6M Form 4
Feb 2, 2026 Brett J HartPresident Sold 19,000 $106.45 $2.0M Form 4

Piotroski F-score

Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.

TestFY23FY24FY25
Net income is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash from operations is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Return on assets rose ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash from operations exceeds net income ✓ ✓ ✓
Debt fell relative to assets ✓ ✓ ✓
Current ratio rose ✕ ✕ ✕
Share count didn't rise ✕ ✕ ✓
Gross margin rose — — —
Revenue rose relative to assets ✓ ✓ ✕
F-score 6 / 86 / 86 / 8
Accruals ratio −6.2%−8.7%−6.8%
Altman Z'' 0.390.590.31

Similar companies

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.

CompanyMarket capGrowthOp. marginFCF marginROICP/EF-score
United Airlines UAL $32.1B 3.5% 8.0% 4.3% 15.3% 9.0x 6
Delta Air Lines DAL $50.6B 2.8% 9.2% 6.1% 16.0% 15.3x 7 Compare →
Carnival CCL $35.7B 6.4% 16.8% 9.8% 12.1% 11.4x 7 Compare →

Stories about United Airlines

10 years of figures

US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.

Download CSV
Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue $36.6B $37.7B $41.3B $43.3B $15.4B $24.6B $45.0B $53.7B $57.1B $59.1B
Operating income $4.3B $3.6B $3.2B $4.3B −$6.4B −$1.0B $2.3B $4.2B $5.1B $4.7B
Interest expense $674M $626M $670M $648M $874M $1.4B $1.8B $2.0B $1.6B $1.4B
Pretax income $3.8B $3.0B $2.6B $3.9B −$8.8B −$2.6B $990M $3.4B $4.2B $4.3B
Income tax $1.5B $880M $526M $905M −$1.8B −$593M $253M $769M $1.0B $953M
Net income $2.2B $2.1B $2.1B $3.0B −$7.1B −$2.0B $737M $2.6B $3.1B $3.4B
Diluted EPS $6.76 $7.06 $7.67 $11.58 −$25.30 −$6.10 $2.23 $7.89 $9.45 $10.20
Diluted shares 0.33B 0.30B 0.28B 0.26B 0.28B 0.32B 0.33B 0.33B 0.33B 0.33B
Cash flow
Cash from operations $5.5B $3.5B $6.2B $6.9B −$4.1B $2.1B $6.1B $6.9B $9.4B $8.4B
Capital expenditure $3.2B $3.9B $4.1B $4.5B $1.7B $2.1B $4.8B $7.2B $5.6B $5.9B
Free cash flow $2.3B −$396M $2.1B $2.4B −$5.9B −$40.0M $1.2B −$260M $3.8B $2.6B
Depreciation and amortization $2.0B $2.1B $2.2B $2.3B $2.5B $2.5B $2.5B $2.7B $2.9B $2.9B
Stock-based compensation $70.0M $73.0M $101M $100M $108M $238M $89.0M $80.0M $142M $148M
Acquisitions $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Share buybacks $2.6B $1.8B $1.2B $1.6B $353M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $162M $637M
Dividends paid $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Dividends and buybacks $2.6B $1.8B $1.2B $1.6B $353M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $162M $637M
Balance sheet
Cash and short-term investments $4.4B $3.8B $4.0B $4.9B $11.7B $18.4B $16.4B $14.4B $14.5B $12.2B
Total debt $10.8B $13.3B $13.4B $14.6B $26.7B $33.4B $31.2B $29.1B $24.7B $21.3B
Finance lease liabilities $0.0M $0.0M $347M $266M $406M $295M $219M $263M $291M $474M
Current assets $7.3B $7.1B $7.1B $8.2B $14.8B $21.8B $20.1B $18.5B $18.9B $16.9B
Current liabilities $12.3B $12.8B $13.8B $14.9B $12.7B $18.3B $20.0B $22.2B $23.3B $26.1B
Inventory $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Property and equipment, net $23.3B $26.2B $27.4B $30.2B $31.5B $32.1B $34.4B $39.8B $42.9B $46.1B
Total assets $40.1B $42.3B $49.0B $52.6B $59.5B $68.2B $67.4B $71.1B $74.1B $76.4B
Total liabilities $31.6B $33.6B $39.0B $41.1B $53.6B $63.1B $60.5B $61.8B $61.4B $61.2B
Shareholders' equity $8.6B $8.8B $10.0B $11.5B $6.0B $5.0B $6.9B $9.3B $12.7B $15.3B
Margins
Operating margin 11.9% 9.6% 7.8% 9.9% −41.4% −4.2% 5.2% 7.8% 8.9% 8.0%
EBITDA margin 17.3% 15.1% 13.1% 15.2% −25.2% 5.9% 10.7% 12.8% 14.1% 13.0%
Net margin 6.1% 5.7% 5.1% 7.0% −46.0% −8.0% 1.6% 4.9% 5.5% 5.7%
FCF margin 6.3% −1.1% 5.1% 5.5% −38.2% −0.2% 2.8% −0.5% 6.7% 4.3%
Returns
Return on capital 17.4% 15.5% 13.6% 16.0% −23.5% −3.9% 8.3% 14.1% 16.2% 15.3%
Return on capital employed 15.4% 12.6% 10.0% 11.8% −15.1% −2.1% 4.8% 8.8% 10.2% 9.3%
Return on equity 25.5% 24.7% 22.5% 27.9% −80.8% −35.7% 12.4% 32.3% 28.6% 24.0%
Return on assets 5.5% 5.2% 4.6% 5.9% −12.6% −3.1% 1.1% 3.8% 4.3% 4.5%
Growth
Revenue growth −3.5% 3.2% 9.5% 4.7% −64.5% 60.4% 82.5% 19.5% 6.2% 3.5%
Net income growth −69.6% −4.1% −1.0% 41.8% −334.9% — — 255.2% 20.3% 6.5%
EPS growth −65.3% 4.4% 8.6% 51.0% −318.5% — — 253.8% 19.8% 7.9%
FCF growth −28.5% −117.1% — 13.7% −346.1% — — −120.9% — −33.2%
Share count change −12.4% −8.1% −8.9% −6.1% 7.5% 15.2% 2.6% 0.6% 0.4% −1.4%
Financial health
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.7x 1.8x 1.5x — 10.4x 3.1x 2.2x 1.3x 1.2x
Debt / equity 1.3x 1.5x 1.4x 1.3x 4.6x 6.7x 4.6x 3.2x 2.0x 1.4x
Interest coverage 6.5x 5.8x 4.8x 6.6x −7.3x −0.7x 1.3x 2.2x 3.1x 3.4x
Current ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.5x 0.6x 1.2x 1.2x 1.0x 0.8x 0.8x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.5x 0.6x 1.2x 1.2x 1.0x 0.8x 0.8x 0.7x
Capital allocation
Capex / revenue 8.8% 10.3% 9.9% 10.5% 11.3% 8.6% 10.7% 13.4% 9.8% 9.9%
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.7% 1.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3%
Payouts / FCF 112.7% — 59.0% 69.1% — — 0.0% — 4.2% 24.9%
Quality scores
Piotroski F-score 5.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 2.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Altman Z'' 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.6 −0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.3
Accruals ratio −8.2% −3.2% −8.9% −7.7% −5.2% −6.3% −7.9% −6.2% −8.7% −6.8%

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000100517). Data updated October 21, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.

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