United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL, XETRA:UAL1) shares fell about 2% after the carrier issued third quarter earnings guidance below Wall Street expectations, despite reporting second quarter results that topped analyst estimates and raising its full-year adjusted earnings outlook.
For the third quarter, United forecast adjusted earnings of $2.50 to $3.50 per share, with the midpoint of $3 falling below analysts' consensus estimate of approximately $3.60 per share.
The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $9 to $11.
United said it now expects nearly $6 billion in additional fuel costs for full-year 2026 compared with expectations at the start of the year.
Fuel expense rose $2.3 billion, or 84%, year over year in the second quarter. The company said it recovered about half of that increase during the quarter and expects to recover 80% to 90% in the third quarter and fully recover the increase by the fourth quarter.
The airline reported adjusted diluted earnings of $1.99 per share for the second quarter on total operating revenue of $17.67 billion. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations of adjusted earnings between $1.85 and $1.89 per share on revenue of about $17.62 billion.
Premium revenue increased 16% from a year earlier, while Basic Economy revenue and loyalty revenue each rose 11%. Cargo revenue climbed 23%, and contracted business revenue increased 27%.
The airline ended the quarter with $19.6 billion in available liquidity and total debt and finance lease obligations of $26.5 billion. During the quarter, it raised $3.7 billion in new liquidity and prepaid about $1 billion of higher-cost debt as it continues to target an investment-grade credit rating.
United CEO Scott Kirby said the company's investments in customer offerings helped drive demand despite higher fuel costs.
"Our results show why we have been investing in customer improvements throughout every cabin and winning brand-loyal customers," Kirby said in a statement.
"United is built to thrive in every environment, and when oil prices spiked in March, we quickly and decisively acted to adjust our schedules, while simultaneously doubling down on our customer investments."