Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans. The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the three months ended September 30 (in millions):


	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits				Affected Line Item in the Statements of Consolidated Operations
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Service cost	$	31	$	51	$	1	$	2	Salaries and related costs
Interest cost	53		47		10		8		Miscellaneous, net
Expected return on plan assets	(62)		(76)		—		—		Miscellaneous, net
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss	2		29		(9)		(3)		Miscellaneous, net
Amortization of prior service credit	1		—		(28)		(28)		Miscellaneous, net
Other	1		2		—		—		Miscellaneous, net
Total	$	26	$	53	$	(26)	$	(21)

The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions):


	Pension Benefits				Other Postretirement Benefits				Affected Line Item in the Statements of Consolidated Operations
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Service cost	$	93	$	153	$	3	$	6	Salaries and related costs
Interest cost	163		141		31		23		Miscellaneous, net
Expected return on plan assets	(188)		(230)		(1)		(1)		Miscellaneous, net
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss	6		90		(28)		(10)		Miscellaneous, net
Amortization of prior service credit	1		—		(84)		(84)		Miscellaneous, net
Other	2		3		—		—		Miscellaneous, net
Total	$	77	$	157	$	(79)	$	(66)

Profit Sharing. Substantially all employees participate in profit sharing based on a percentage of pre-tax earnings, excluding special or non-recurring charges, profit sharing expense and share-based compensation. Profit sharing percentages range from 5% to 20% depending on the work group, and in some cases profit sharing percentages vary above and below certain thresholds. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA"), the thresholds were lowered retroactive to January 1, 2023 for the pilot work group. Eligible U.S. co-workers in each participating work group receive a profit sharing payout using a formula based on the ratio of each qualified co-worker's annual eligible earnings to the eligible earnings of all qualified co-workers in all domestic work groups. Eligible non-U.S. co-workers receive profit sharing based on the calculation under the U.S. profit sharing plan for management and administrative employees. The Company recorded profit sharing and related payroll tax expense of $301 million and $521 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively. The Company recorded profit sharing expense of $8 million in both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022. Profit sharing expense is recorded as a component of Salaries and related costs in the Company's statements of consolidated operations.