United beats earnings expectations despite $6 billion fuel hit projection

United Airlines’ second quarter financial results beat Wall Street projections despite the US carrier projecting a $6 billion fuel hit this year.

On July 15, 2026, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby lauded the airline’s ability to “thrive in every environment” even when oil prices spiked in March 2026.

“We quickly and decisively acted to adjust our schedules, while simultaneously doubling down on our customer investments,” Kirby added.

United confirmed that full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance is raised to $9 to $11. The airline posted adjusted earnings of $1.99 per share, above the $1.85 predictions.

Based on oil prices as of July 14, 2026, United expects nearly $6 billion in added fuel expense for full-year 2026 compared to the expectation at the start of the year.

United AirlinesIn the second quarter alone fuel expenses were up $2.3 billion, although the company said it was able to recover around half of this increase.

Its successes included premium revenue being up 16% compared to the second quarter of 2025, while revenue from economy class was up 11%.

United’s revenue for the second quarter rose 16% to $17.67 billion. During the same period last year, the figure was $15.2 billion.

The company’s operating income was down 17% from $1.3 billion during the second quarter in 2025 to $1 billion over the same period in 2026. Net income also dropped 17% to $805 million from $973 million last year.

Highlights included United announcing that 450 aircraft now have Starlink stalled with nearly 1,000 expected by year end. United said it remains on track to bring Starlink to the whole fleet by the end of 2027.

You can view the full results on the United Airlines website.

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