United Airlines UAL continues to benefit from robust air travel demand. The company’s efforts to expand its global reach are commendable. Due to these tailwinds, UAL shares have performed impressively on the bourse. If you have not taken advantage of its share price appreciation yet, it’s time to do so.

Let’s delve deeper.

Factors Favoring UAL Stock

Robust Price Performance: The company’s price trend reveals that its shares have surged 139% over the past year, surpassing the industry’s 44.6% decline.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Northward Estimate Revisions: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has been revised upward by 9.6% over the past 60 days for the fourth quarter of 2024. For 2024 and 2025, the consensus mark for earnings per share has moved 5% and 5.9% north in the same time frame. The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ confidence in the stock.

Solid Zacks Rank: UAL currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Bullish Industry Rank: The industry to which United Airlines belongs currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 18 (out of 249). Such a favorable rank places it in the top 7% of Zacks Industries.Studies show that 50% of a stock price movement is directly related to the performance of the industry group it belongs to.

A mediocre stock within a strong group is likely to outclass a robust stock in a weak industry. Reckoning the industry’s performance becomes imperative.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: United Airlines has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 26.9%.

Growth Factors: United Airlines' top line is bolstered by strong demand across key revenue segments. In the third quarter of 2024, airlinetraffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) rose by 2.7% year over year. To meet this surge in demand, capacity (measured in available seat miles) grew by 4.1%. As traffic failed to outpace capacity expansion, the consolidated load factor (percentage of seat occupancy) fell 1.1 percentage points to 85.3%.

United Airlines is making significant moves to improve customer experience and expand its global presence. The agreement with SpaceX to offer free, fast Starlink Wi-Fi on more than 1,000 aircraft starting in late 2025 sets a new standard for in-flight connectivity. Moreover, United's largest international expansion, adding eight new destinations in 2025, strengthens its global network, including underserved locations like Ulaanbaatar and Kaohsiung.