United Airlines (UAL.O) saw a premarket surge of about 5.3% on Wednesday following an optimistic profit forecast for the second quarter and robust first-quarter results, despite facing a $200 million setback due to Boeing’s safety crisis.
Analyst Peter McNally from Third Bridge noted that United’s first-quarter results exceeded significantly lowered expectations in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 MAX-9 grounding in January. As a major customer of Boeing (BA.N), United adjusted its annual delivery estimate for new aircraft by 25% due to production and certification delays faced by the planemaker.
Despite challenges, such as the incident involving a cabin panel on an Alaska Airlines jet in January, which raised concerns over Boeing’s MAX 10 variant certification, United’s operational performance remained strong. McNally highlighted that reduced industry capacity supported pricing stability for United.
Source: Reuters