United tops Street 2Q forecasts

United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $818 million.

On a per-share basis, the Chicago-based company said it had net income of $2.66. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $2.75 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.72 per share.

The airline posted revenue of $10 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $9.96 billion.

United shares have risen slightly more than 8 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $78.90, a climb of 65 percent in the last 12 months.