United Airlines (UAL) President Brett Hart Sells Shares, Exercises Options

What Happened

• Brett J. Hart, President of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL), settled performance-based restricted stock units, exercised stock options, and sold shares during July 25–28, 2026.
• On July 25 he received 46,375 shares from the settlement of 2024 PB‑RSUs; 20,543 of those shares were withheld to cover tax withholding (withholding value reported at $118.27 per share, ~$2.43M).
• On July 27 he exercised stock options (granted June 14, 2017) resulting in 21,521 shares acquired at a weighted average exercise price of $77.56 (value reported ~$1.67M). The issuer withheld 17,245 shares to cover the exercise price and related taxes, leaving 4,276 shares issued to him (net exercise).
• On July 28 he sold 30,108 shares in open‑market transactions at a weighted average price of $120.72 for proceeds of about $3,634,638, and separately gifted 7,461 shares to charity.

Key Details

• Transaction dates and amounts:
  • 2026-07-25: Award/settlement of 46,375 PB‑RSU shares (20,543 withheld for taxes at $118.27 = $2,429,621).
  • 2026-07-27: Option exercise (21,521 shares) at $77.56 = $1,669,169; 17,245 shares withheld to cover exercise price/taxes (reported disposal value ~$2,079,230).
  • 2026-07-28: Open market sale of 30,108 shares at weighted avg $120.72 = $3,634,638 (sale prices ranged $120.55–$120.80).
  • 2026-07-28: Gift of 7,461 shares to charity (no proceeds).
• Footnotes of note:
  • F1/F2: PB‑RSUs from 2024 settled and shares were withheld to cover tax obligations.
  • F3/F4: Options were granted in 2017 and vested in installments; the exercise reported was a net exercise with share withholding to cover costs.
  • F5: Sale price shown is a weighted average across multiple trades.
  • F6: Gift was a charitable donation.
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the information provided here.
• Filing: Form 4 filed July 28, 2026, reporting activity from July 25–28, 2026.

Context

• This set of transactions combines routine award settlement and option exercise activity with an open‑market sale. The option exercise was effectively a net (cashless) exercise because a substantial number of shares were withheld to cover the exercise cost and taxes, leaving a smaller number of net issued shares.
• The open‑market sale ($3.63M proceeds) is a clear disposal; the gift to charity does not imply a market view.
• For retail investors, purchases or net buys tend to be more informative about insider conviction; here the activity is primarily settlement, tax withholding, exercise, and a sizable sale. All figures above are from the Form 4 filing (Accession 0000100517-26-000157).