United Expands Credit Facility to $5 Billion in Pursuit of Investment-Grade Rating
Key Facts
United Airlines increased the liquidity available under its revolving credit facility to $5 billion, according to its earnings release dated October 20, 2026, in a move it linked to strengthening its balance sheet. The facility stood at $3 billion before the expansion, according to the comparison the airline provided in the release. The company completed the expansion on October 16, before disclosing it with its third-quarter results, increasing the funding available through the facility. United said the move was part of its pursuit of an "investment-grade credit rating." The company thus placed balance sheet strengthening at the center of the expansion's stated purpose, alongside the announcement of its operating and financial results and updates to its earnings and fuel-cost assumptions for the coming period.
United's available liquidity stood at $17.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2026, according to the earnings release, before the credit facility expansion in October. On the other side of the balance sheet, debt, finance lease obligations and other financial liabilities totaled $26.4 billion at the end of the same period. Net leverage, based on the company's adjusted measure, was 2.4 times for the annual period ended September 2026. Regarding its previous financing arrangements, United said in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the previous revolving facility was secured by rights associated with its network and airport facilities. That collateral included certain route operating rights, airport slots and gates, according to the company's description of the facility.
On the operating front, United's operating revenue rose 17.4% in the third quarter of 2026 from the same quarter a year earlier, according to the company's release. Within its travel business, revenue from corporate customers under contract with the airline grew 26% year on year during the same period, outpacing overall operating revenue growth. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.54 for the quarter, according to the results United announced alongside its financial position update. Meanwhile, cost per available seat mile excluding fuel, based on the company's measure, rose 7.8% from a year earlier. The period's results thus combined higher operating revenue and growth in corporate travel revenue with an increase in operating unit costs excluding fuel.
United's average jet fuel cost was $3.90 per gallon in the third quarter of 2026, according to the earnings release. For the fourth quarter of the same year, the airline assumed an average fuel cost of about $4.80 per gallon in its investor update. The assumption underlying the company's outlook for the coming period exceeds the average cost it actually recorded in the quarter ended September. Meanwhile, United said analysts' fourth-quarter forecasts assumed an average fuel cost of about $4.35 per gallon, below its own assumption. The comparison presented by the airline showed that its estimates and analysts' estimates used different per-gallon fuel costs for the same quarter in calculating financial forecasts for the period.
United estimated the impact of the difference between its fuel-cost assumption and analysts' assumption at about $1.00 per share in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to its investor update. The company tied that estimate specifically to the gap between the fuel assumptions used to calculate its outlook and those it said analysts were using for the same period. As for expected profitability, the airline forecast adjusted diluted earnings per share of between $0.50 and $1.50 in the fourth quarter. Its announced guidance range for the coming period is below the adjusted diluted earnings per share it achieved in the third quarter. The estimated fuel impact was included in the update in which the company presented its earnings-per-share outlook, alongside the cost assumption underpinning that outlook.
In its operating outlook for the fourth quarter of 2026, United said it expected operating revenue to grow by more than 20% from the same period a year earlier. That means the airline expects annual revenue growth to exceed the pace recorded in the third quarter, while forecasting a quarterly decline in adjusted earnings per share. The company's outlook for the coming period thus includes continued operating revenue growth, with an assumed fuel cost above the level recorded in the quarter just ended. On investment in 2026, United expected adjusted capital expenditure of about $7.5 billion for the year, according to the investor update. The capital expenditure estimate covers the full year, while the revenue growth, earnings-per-share and fuel-cost forecasts relate to its fourth quarter.