United Airlines Holdings reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed Wall Street's expectations, and raised its full-year guidance.

But the Chicago-based carrier also warned that its fuel costs could balloon by nearly $6 billion this year, compared with projections at the start of the year.

"In the second quarter fuel expense was up $2.3 billion, or 84% year-over-year and the Company recovered approximately half of this increase," United said. "In the third quarter the Company expects to recover approximately 80% to 90% of the increase, and 100% by the fourth quarter."

For the second-quarter ended in June, United reported adjusted earnings of $1.99 a share on revenue of $17.67 billion, up 16% from a year ago.

Wall Street was expecting adjusted earnings of $1.88 a share on revenue of $17.62 billion, according to FactSet.

Shares were down 3.5% in late Wednesday trading, after closing up 0.5% at $120.97 in regular trading. United's stock is up 8.2% so far this year, and up 37% over the past 12 months.

United also raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to between $9.00 to $11.00 a share.

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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 12% 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 4.5% this week and around 11.5% in July. The shares have fallen in eight of the nine trading days so far this month, were pointing 0.5% higher ahead of the open Wednesday.

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 better-than-expected earnings on Friday, and rising fuel prices have caused another bout of turbulence since. The U.S. 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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July 15, 2026 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)

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