United Airlines' fourth-quarter outlook points to lower adjusted per-share earnings than in the prior quarter, while the carrier expects to pay 90 cents more per gallon for fuel.
The fourth-quarter range is $0.50 to $1.50 in adjusted diluted earnings per share, United said Oct. 20; the comparable third-quarter figure was $2.54. United projects an average fuel price of $4.80 a gallon for the quarter, compared with $3.90 in the third.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the first nine months of 2026 totaled $5.72. Adding the fourth-quarter range implies full-year adjusted earnings of $6.22 to $7.22 a share, below the $9 to $11 range in United's July earnings outlook.
Passenger counts increased more than 2% in the third quarter from a year earlier. The traffic gain came as the airline's new forecast points to higher fuel costs in the final quarter.
