Rubbish Check
Guardian Business · 23 July 2026 source

“EasyJet profits plunge 70% as fuel costs soar amid Iran war”

R4/ 10
Selective
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Guardian's claim that "easyJet profits plunge 70%" a 4/10 because the underlying £85m-versus-£286m drop and £105m fuel hit are accurate, but the headline buries that the result beat analyst forecasts and shares actually rose.
The Verdict
Selective. The core numbers check out against easyJet's own trading update, so this isn't invented spin, but the headline and body lean entirely into the "plunge" narrative while omitting that easyJet reported an £85m profit for the three months to June 30, a far cry from £286m a year ago as fuel costs soared by £105m, but higher than earnings predicted by JPMorgan and RBC analysts. A reader gets alarm, not the fuller picture that the market had already priced this in.

What actually happened

EasyJet's third-quarter pre-tax profit fell from £286m to £85m year-on-year, driven by a £105m jump in fuel costs tied to the Iran conflict and passengers booking later. The Guardian's own figures on this match the company's trading statement exactly, and the timing coincides with a live £5.7bn Apollo takeover bid contesting a rival Castlelake offer.

Key facts

  • Pre-tax profit: £85m (Q3, April-June) vs £286m same quarter last year, a 70% fall, as reported by easyJet.
  • Fuel cost increase: £105m, tied to the Iran conflict pushing oil above $96 a barrel.
  • The result still beat earnings predicted by JPMorgan and RBC analysts, a fact absent from the Guardian headline and lede.
  • Revenues still rose 2pc to £3bn, while its package holiday business delivered profits of £84m, broadly unchanged from a year earlier, with customer numbers up 8pc.
  • Passenger numbers fell 0.4% to 25.8 million in the quarter, a marginal decline, not a collapse in demand.
  • Shares rose in the day's trading, partly recouping a prior-day 10-12% fall that the article itself attributes to EU ownership-rule reports, not the earnings.

What to watch for

  • Whether the EU's proposed airline-ownership review derails the Apollo/Castlelake bidding war; Apollo's deadline is 7 August, Castlelake's 3 August.
  • Next quarter's fuel-cost trend as oil prices remain volatile post-conflict; a stabilising price would flatter comparisons.
  • Whether outlets keep comparing easyJet's 70% drop to Ryanair's 34% drop without noting both beat forecasts, a framing choice that shapes which airline looks "worse."
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
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