United Continental Holdings: A must-know company overview (Part 1 of 14)
Company overview
United Continental Holdings Inc. provides transportation services to passengers and cargo. It’s a holding company with United Airlines (UAL) as its wholly owned subsidiary. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation changed its name to United Continental Holdings Inc. after merging with Continental. The company has a comprehensive global network covering 369 destinations worldwide in 59 countries. It derives ~58% of its revenue from domestic operations and operates from eight major hubs in the U.S., including airports in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington, as well as from Guam International Airport and Narita International Airport in Tokyo.
Apart from the domestic market, United has a strong presence in fast-growing countries like China in the Pacific region and Atlantic region. The company won “Best American Airline serving China” in the 2013 Business Traveller China Awards. It’s one of the 26 members of Star Alliance, which offers more than 18,000 daily flights to 193 countries worldwide.
United’s share price performance
United Continental Holdings Inc. is listed on the New York stock exchange. United (UAL) has provided good returns to its shareholders, as its share price has increased more than 100%, to $43.66 in June 2014 from an annual average of $21 in 2012. In the same period, the S&P 500 Index has increased 35%, to $1,962 from $1,379, and the IVT Index rose 51%, from $89 to $147. Clearly, United has outperformed the market and the Dow Jones transportation ETF (IVT). We also find that all major airline company stock prices have performed well in this period, as Delta’s (DAL) share increased 247%, American Airlines’ (AAL) 244%, Southwest’s (LUV) 164%, and JetBlue’s (JBLU) 72%.
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