United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) reported its Q4 results, with EPS coming in at ($1.60), better than the consensus estimate of ($2.08). Quarterly revenue was $8.19 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $7.99 billion. Q4 capacity was down 23% compared to Q4/2019, but the stock dipped 2% in the extended trading.The company provided its Q1/2022 outlook, expecting capacity to be down 16% to 18%, compared to Q1/2019, and total operating revenue to be down 20% to 25%, compared to Q1/2019.
According to Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, the company remains optimistic about the spring and excited about the summer and beyond, while noting that the Omicron variant is impacting near-term demand. Kirby said the company looks forward to beginning to return the Pratt & Whitney 777s to service in Q1/2022 and getting the full airline back to normal utilization.
The company remains confident in its long-term financial targets from 2023 and 2026 CASM-ex1 United Next plan.