United Airlines earnings come just days after its rival Delta Air Lines reported but the landscape for the sector has shifted dramatically in that short time.

Oil prices have jumped 13% so far this week as hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have escalated in recent days. Jet fuel prices had been moderating after surging in recent months, but the spike complicates the picture for carriers and investors.

United stock is down more than 4% this week and around 11% in July. The shares have fallen in eight of the nine trading days so far this month.

But the recent weakness could help the shares after earnings. Higher airfares, strong demand, and capacity cuts have enabled airlines to mitigate the increase in fuel costs. United is still up 25% over the past three months and its earnings after the close Wednesday are an opportunity for the company to remind investors why.

That's if it can beat the numbers. Analysts are expecting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.88 on revenue of $17.6 billion in the second quarter. For the third quarter, Wall Street is looking for a return to profit growth, expecting EPS of $3.52 on sales of $17.6 billion.

UBS analyst Atul Maheswari said the expectation was for $3 to $4 EPS guidance for the third quarter. "With Jet Fuel moving DD% [double-digit] today [Monday] an EPS expectation range is hard to pin down," he wrote in a note earlier this week.

However, he said the two most important metrics will be United's capacity outlook and its implied revenue expectations for the fourth quarter of the year.

Delta failed to inspire the sector when it reported earnings on Friday, and rising fuel prices have caused another bout of turbulence since. The Global JETS exchange-traded fund is down 7% this month.

There's suddenly a lot more riding on United's report.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2026 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)

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