PREVIEW: United Airlines expected to report Q3 EPS drop, revenue gain y/y

** Shares in United Airlines UAL up 0.1% on Wednesday in last session ahead of Q3 financial report, expected to be released after market close

** UAL, which has scheduled its investor call for Thursday morning, is expected to report adj EPS of $2.63 vs $3.33 year-ago on rev of $15.33 bln vs $14.84 bln in year-ago quarter, according to LSEG

** In last 8 quarters EPS beat the Street every time while rev met or beat expectations just 5 times

** Expectations are high for airline industry results after Delta Air Lines DAL.N said last Thursday robust demand for high-end travel and a sharp slowdown in the industry's seat capacity expansion have positioned it well to increase revenue and expand margins next year and the airline also forecast record earnings for the current quarter, after reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 profit on improved consumer demand and pricing power

** One issue investors will look for information on during UAL calls is the impact of the U.S. government shutdown, which Delta said was not impacting its operations yet. But the Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that air traffic control staffing issues delayed travel for a fifth straight day as more workers are calling in sick with air traffic controllers and security screeners to go without pay. Some travelers have been starting to cancel trips and avoid airports as a result.

** UAL shares last traded at $103.25 vs median PT of $116.50, up from $113.50 a month ago, as per LSEG, which shows 23 analyst ratings: 5 'strong buy,' 16 'buy,' and 2 'hold' recommendations

** YTD the stock is up 6.5% vs a gain of ~3% for the S&P 500 passenger airline index (.SPLRCALI)