United Airlines Holdings
Chicago-based United Airlines is a major US network carrier with hubs in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, and Washington, D.C. United operates a hub-and-spoke system that is more focused on international and long-haul travel, especially across the Pacific, than its large US peers.www.ir.united.com
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Search complete. 3 mentions across 2 episodes found for "United Airlines Holdings".
Aug 31, 2026
Aswath DamodaranHOST
Hong Kong might be 15%.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
You think, so what? What did we just say? The tax benefits of debt are a function of the marginal tax rate, right? So let's say I gave you two airlines, Ryanair, which is Ireland-based and reports its income in Ireland, and United Continental, which is a US company.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
Let's say you haven't looked at their financials.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
I know you look at airline financials all the time, but let's say you haven't looked at them recently.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
And I ask you, which of these two airlines would you expect to borrow more money? What's the answer gonna be? I would expect United Continental to load up on debt like crazy.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
Why? Because they get a much bigger tax benefit.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
It's actually a testable hypothesis.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
In Ireland, it's close to twelve and a half percent.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
If you're Ryanair versus Uni-United Continental, two airline companies, you would expect United Continental to borrow more money than Ryanair will simply because the tax benefits of debt to United are so much higher than the tax benefits to Ryanair.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
So if you're working with five companies in your group from different countries, this might be one of the things you want to look at.
Aswath DamodaranHOST
What are the marginal tax rates in these countries? 'Cause holding all else constant, higher tax rate countries should have companies that borrow more money.