On Tuesday, United Airlines released its earnings for the holiday quarter and beat expectations for the 14th consecutive quarter. United also updated its earnings forecast for 2026 to be above expectations on the high side. According to United Airlines’ 2026 earnings forecast, Scott Kirby, the CEO of United, said, “Our results are attributable to winning a growing number of brand loyal customers.” United had a 3.6% increase in the extended session after reporting strong earnings.
According to FactSet, this marks United’s 14th consecutive quarterly earnings report to exceed expectations since July 2022, the last time they missed their earnings report in the second quarter of 2022. Both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are competing for customers who are willing to pay extra for safer and more comfortable travel experiences, as well as other benefits such as upgraded boarding status. They both plan to provide more nonstop and international routes with a stronger emphasis on scheduled departure reliability, lounges, and multi-tier service offerings to cater to high-income customers.
United has increased its expectations of adjusted earnings per share in 2026 to $12-$14, as compared to the FactSet consensus of $13.19. The 14 consecutive quarters of exceeding expectations occurred despite a government shutdown that occurred in the fall of 2019 and inhibited the growth of U.S. airlines during one of the busiest periods of the year.
United Airlines provided customers with a “unique opportunity to further strengthen the bond of trust” through its decision to provide a complete solution in the form of refunds to those who purchased airline tickets for flights that were not cancelled as part of this shutdown. In total, United incurred approximately $250 million in expenses during the fourth quarter due to this event, including those associated with alterations of airline booking requests. For the final quarter and for the full year, premium fare revenue has been an increase of 11% and 9%, respectively, when compared to that earned in the previous year and compared to previous years.
Increased loyalty revenue also increased from an increase of 9% and 10%, respectively, for both the final quarter and for the full year, when compared to the previous year. Basic fare revenue growth was less substantial, growing by 7% and 5% respectively for the final quarter and for the full year. “The upward trend in premium revenue has continued into the first quarter of 2026,” the United States, noting that its flown revenue during the week ending on Jan. 4 was the highest in history, while that same week ending Jan. 11 marked the highest ticket sales week ever, and business ticket sales peaked during that same week.
Adjusting for all the various factors associated with United, a total of $3.10 per adjusted share was generated as revenue, thus exceeding analysts’ expectations by an amount of $0.93, reflecting the increase in total revenues of 5% to $15.4 billion as documented in the consensus by FactSet. The airline reported an adjusted operating earnings per share of $3.26 on revenues of $14.7 billion for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024.
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The positive attitude of United Airlines on the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 reflects some of the same optimistic indicators seen by several investors on the equity markets, including the emergence of short-term gains in corporate air travel, which is beneficial to both United and other U.S. airlines.
Citi analysts recently wrote that corporate air travel in 2025 was “down in the dumps,” but that the start of 2026 had already begun to show “significant signs of recovery” for the major U.S. carriers (known as “supermajors” ), including Delta Airlines (ROI), and United. Delta Airlines released its fourth-quarter earnings last week and gave shareholders a less-than-encouraging outlook.
