United Airlines reported first-quarter earnings late Thursday and, like all other airlines facing what its own CEO called "the most disruptive global crisis in the history of aviation" due to the coronavirus pandemic, it lost money.
But United surprised Wall Street by losing less than expected, a pleasant development among the doom and gloom of the travel industry these days.
United lost $1.7 billion, or $6.86 a share, in the first quarter. That's well below last year's Q1 earnings of $292 million.
But according to MarketWatch; adjusted for one-time items, United lost $639 million, or $2.57 a share. Analysts expected United to report an adjusted loss of $2.85 a share.
"While we are still in the midst of this crisis, we will not hesitate to make difficult decisions we believe will ensure the long term success of our company," Chief Executive Oscar Munoz said in a statement. "When demand returns, we believe we'll be positioned to bounce back strongly and quickly."
United itself had predicted it would lose $2.1 billion for the quarter, so coming in at $1.7 billion was something of a victory and the stock jumped early on Friday morning. But, as with every airline stock, it was tempered by the overall picture. United's stock was trading at a high this year of $89.70 on Jan. 17. As of 10 a.m. Friday morning, it was down to $27.19.
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