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United Airlines was bullish on Wednesday about a “strong finish” to the year as the carrier saw demand begin to rise earlier in the month amid decreased uncertainty.
The Chicago-based airline said in its second-quarter earnings report that demand posted a “sequential 6-point” acceleration beginning in early July, with business demand notching a “double-digit acceleration” compared to the second quarter.
That uptick, United said, came from “less geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.”
United Airlines Boeing 767-400 ER Extended Range with 2x CF6-80 engines aircraft landing at Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport AMS EHAM in The Netherlands, the Dutch capital. The airplane has registration N66057 and its type is exactly Boeing 7 (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Importantly, United saw a positive shift in demand beginning in early July, and, like 2024, anticipates another inflection in industry supply in mid-August,” CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “The world is less uncertain today than it was during the first six months of 2025 and that gives us confidence about a strong finish to the year.”
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Earlier in the year, United and other major U.S. carriers had been contending with softer demand and concerns about how uncertainty related to the economy, trade and other factors could impact consumers.
A United Airlines passenger plane is seen at San Francisco International Airport in July 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Kirby said Wednesday that he was “extremely proud of the team for executing a strong operation and navigating through a volatile macroeconomic period, while still growing earnings and pre-tax margin for the first half of the year.”
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United brought in a total of $28.4 billion in operating revenue over the first six months of the year, up from the $27.5 billion it saw during the same period the prior year. Meanwhile, its net income and diluted earnings per share for the first half the year both posted jumps, hitting $1.36 billion and $4.12, respectively.
In the second quarter specifically, the carrier said it generated $15.24 billion in total operating revenue, a roughly 1.7% increase year-over-year, and saw net income of $973 million, a 26.4% decrease year-over-year.
United Airlines airplanes proceed to a runway at Newark Liberty International Airport in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City on January 27, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images / Getty Images)
United also issued an update to its guidance for 2025, saying it now anticipates adjusted diluted earnings per share in the $9.00-11.00 range for the year. For the third quarter, it foresees $2.25-2.75, with recent issues at Newark Liberty International Airport expected to negatively impact its adjusted pre-tax margin by about 0.9 points.
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The airline has carried over 86.99 million passengers over the first two quarters of the year, including 46.2 million in the second quarter.
It has seven hub airports in the U.S., including Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark Liberty, San Francisco and Washington Dulles.
The company’s market capitalization hovered around $30.46 billion as of Thursday morning, the day after it released its second-quarter earnings.