United Airlines slashes 2026 profit outlook to $7.22 per share on soaring fuel costs
United Airlines expects fourth-quarter earnings below Wall Street estimates.
The short version
- Fuel costs will hit $4.80 a gallon on average.
- Third-quarter net income rose 8.5 percent to $1.03 billion.
- Passengers keep booking despite higher fares and ticket prices.
United Airlines, the major US airline, just cut its full-year profit outlook as high fuel prices eat into earnings. The carrier now expects no more than $7.22 per share for 2026, well below earlier forecasts of up to $11 a share. Think of a busy tarmac with fuel trucks pumping millions of gallons into wide-body jets every single day.
That fuel bill jumped nearly 62 percent in the last quarter to $4.84 billion. The twist is that travelers keep booking anyway, with passenger counts up over 2 percent and ticket prices climbing right along with costs. According to CNBC, United expects to pay $4.80 a gallon for jet fuel in the final quarter, up sharply from $3.90 in the third.
Strong demand is keeping planes full even as Airlines face severe cost pressures. "Our employees met the challenge of our ever-changing environment and our results prove the resilience of focusing on building a brand-loyal airline for customers," United CEO Scott Kirby said in an earnings release. Planes stay packed, and Airlines keep passing those rising fuel bills straight down to the passenger.
Photo: Anna Zvereva, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
