U.S. Corporate Earnings Cast Off Covid Gloom With Rosy Outlooks

Coca-Cola Co. sees more people buying beverages at stadiums and restaurants. Johnson & Johnson is getting a lift from patients finally undergoing long-postponed surgeries and treatments. United Airlines Holdings Inc. is predicting profits ahead with more passengers booking business travel.

If there’s trepidation in corporate America over the delta variant of Covid-19 sweeping through the country, you wouldn’t know it from the earnings season thus far. Even as the virulent strain has become dominant in the U.S. this month, sending a shudder through markets, executives are gaining confidence that the rebound in consumer and business spending will continue.