UPDATE: American Airlines Posts Stronger-Than-Expected Q3 Earnings

American Airlines

reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company posted quarterly net earnings of $942 million, or $1.28 per share, compared to $289 million, or $1.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $1.66 per share. Its revenue gained 63% to $11.14 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.63 per share on revenue of $11.15 billion. Passenger revenue per available seat mile rose 1%, while passenger load factor declined to 83.4% from 84.7%. Total operating expenses rose 3.5% to $9.9 billion. The company declared a dividend of $0.10 per share. At September 30, 2014, the company had around $8.8 billion in total cash and short-term investments, of which $875 million was restricted. "We are very pleased to have reported a record profit for each quarter so far in 2014," said Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. "We anticipate we will also post a record profit for both the fourth quarter and full year 2014. This performance reflects the strength of our merger and the commitment of our team.” American Airlines shares gained 0.76% to $37.32 in pre-market trading.