A busy summer pushes United Airlines to a $1.14 billion profit, but fuel cost will hurt 4Q results

abcnews.go.com:

The summer travel season was very good for U.S. airlines, but rising fuel prices and the Israel-Hamas war are setting up a turbulent fourth quarter

United Airlines said Tuesday that it earned $1.14 billion in the vacation-heavy third quarter, but the airline forecast weaker profit the rest of the year due to surging jet fuel prices and the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv during the Israel-Hamas war.

United said its fourth-quarter adjusted profit would be between $1.50 and $1.80 per share, far short of Wall Street expectations for $2.09 per share.

The high end of the United forecast assumes that the airline will resume Tel Aviv flights next month, while the low end assumes no more flights this year. United and many other airlines halted the flights shortly after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Jet fuel prices have risen by about one-third since the beginning of July, tracking the increase in oil prices. United paid an average of $2.95 a gallon in the third quarter — a windfall because it paid nearly a dollar more per gallon a year ago — but it expects to pay $3.28 a gallon in the fourth quarter.

Shares of United's parent fell more than 4% in extended trading.

While the fourth-quarter outlook is muted, the third quarter was strong all around for the Chicago-based airline. United said after the market closed Tuesday that revenue increased more than 12% over the same period last year, led by international flights.

United said it set quarterly profit records for service to both Europe and Asia, as more Americans traveled beyond U.S. borders. Domestic revenue also grew, though not as much.

United's net income of $1.14 billion compared with $942 million a year earlier. The airline said earnings adjusted to exclude