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United Airlines (UAL) Q1 2026 earnings

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United Airlines (UAL) Q1 2026 earnings

A United Airlines Airbus A321 plane approaches the runway at Denver International Airport (DEN) on March 23, 2026 in Denver, Colorado.

Al Drago | Getty Images

United Airlines slashed its 2026 earnings outlook Tuesday as it grapples with a surge in jet fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East.

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United said it could earn between $7 and $11 a share on an adjusted basis this year, down from its previous forecast of between $12 and $14 a share that it released in January, more than a month before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

The carrier, like others, is trimming some of its planned flying this year to reduce costs. Wall Street had already been adjusting its expectations for the year as a result. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast that United’s adjusted, full-year earnings would be $9.58 a share.

For the second quarter, United forecast adjusted earnings of between $1 and $2 a share. Analysts had expected $2.08 a share for the quarter. United estimated its fuel price would average $4.30 a gallon in the second quarter.

The carrier said it expects its revenue to cover between 40% to 50% of the fuel price increase in the second quarter, as much as 80% in the third and between 85% and 100% by the end of the year.

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United reiterated that it is tweaking its schedules to adjust to higher fuel, with capacity in the second half of the year expected to be flat to up about 2% on the year. It grew 3.4% in the first quarter.

Here is what United Airlines reported for the quarter that ended March 31 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on estimates compiled by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.19 adjusted vs. $1.07 expected
  • Revenue: $14.61 billion vs. $14.37 billion expected

Revenue, profit climb

Merger ambitions?

United CEO Scott Kirby is likely to face questions on the company’s 10:30 a.m. ET earnings call on Wednesday about his ambitions for a merger with another airline.

Kirby floated a potential merger with American Airlines to a Trump administration official earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter, but President Donald Trump said he was against the idea.

“I don’t like having them merge,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning. He said he would like someone to buy struggling discount carrier Spirit but he also suggested that the federal government could “help that one out.”

American also rejected the idea of a merger with United last week.

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Confidence level of industry improving: KV Kamath, ICICI Bank

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ET Now caught up with KV Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank, for his expectations from the Narendra Modi government as well as the Budget. Excerpts:

ET Now: Talking of expectations from Narendra Modi, do not you think too much hope and money in essence is riding behind one man? Despite his good intentions, there are structural problems in the economy and even the Prime Minister does not quite have a magic wand?

KV Kamath: If you look back to 10 years ago, the economy was getting into near double digit growth even with all the structural problems. Now you have a leader who has a known bias for fixing things and making sure that things work. It is the same set of structure, the same set of people who are driving this. You have the right leader who can drive the effort.

ET Now: The other day we had Mr. Birla meet the Finance Minister and as he walked out of the meeting, he said he expects the economy to revive in three to six months. He says he is going to start investing in India now. We have not heard too many corporate leaders say that. You have a pulse of the mood of corporate India. When do you think will the corporate leaders start investing?

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KV Kamath: The first sense comes from the market. It is the collective wisdom of the marketplace that there is action and we will move with speed. That improves the confidence level of industry. Now we need to see whether some of the ground conditions that are needed for people to get back to an investment mode are going to change. Today I read that with a large slate of reforms or projects which have been stuck are going to be addressed in the next few days. If that happens, you will see a sea change in the investment mindset, as it were.

ET Now: It could happen in three months itself. Is that what you think?