Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL)

Delta reported its September-quarter results on 9 October 2026: operating revenue of $20.2 billion, up 21 percent, but net income of $756 million against $1,417 million a year before 1. The squeeze came from fuel, whose average price rose to $3.80 a gallon from $2.26, lifting fuel expense to $4.35 billion 1.

Demand itself was strong: premium ticket revenue and loyalty revenue each grew 18 percent, and the payments American Express makes for SkyMiles grew 15 percent 1. Chief executive Ed Bastian said the company expects a full-year pre-tax profit of roughly $4.5 billion, "absorbing a $6 billion increase in fuel costs" 1.

The open questions are fuel, the Middle East and labor 1113. The December-quarter outlook assumes an all-in fuel price of about $4.25 a gallon, and on 12 October Delta pushed its planned Atlanta to Riyadh route back to March 2027, citing "evolving developments in the region" 111. The pilots' contract becomes amendable on 31 December 2026 3.

Delta in its present shape dates from 2008, when it bought Northwest Airlines and with it Pacific routes and takeoff and landing rights in Asia 7. In June 2012 two subsidiaries bought the Trainer oil refinery near Philadelphia, to cut the refining margin built into the price of jet fuel 7. Ed Bastian ran Northwest in 2008 and 2009 as Delta's president and has been chief executive since May 2016 3.

In 2016 revenue slipped 2.6 percent to $39.6 billion, which the annual report put down to fare competition while fuel was cheap and to the strong dollar 7. Pilots ratified a contract with an 18 percent pay rise that year, and pre-tax income still reached $6.6 billion 7.

From there revenue climbed to $47.0 billion in 2019, about 19 percent above 2016 (computed) 57. Profit sharing paid employees $1.6 billion in February 2020 for that year 5.

Then the pandemic struck: from the second half of March 2020 demand collapsed, capacity for the year was cut about 50 percent and revenue fell 64 percent to $17.1 billion 5. The pre-tax loss was $15.6 billion, including $8.2 billion of restructuring charges, largely for retiring fleets and early retirements 5. Delta retired 227 aircraft, about 18,000 employees took early retirement or separation, and the government's payroll support program paid $5.6 billion 5.

Operating income in 2021 was lifted by $4.5 billion of payroll support grants 6. In 2022 revenue rose 69 percent as travel came back, and premium revenue gained from a cabin mix that changed when older fleets were retired in 2020 6.

A new pilot contract was ratified on 1 March 2023, and its one-time costs weighed on that year's reported results 138. In 2024 revenue grew 6 percent on 6 percent more capacity 8. The CrowdStrike software outage that July cancelled about 7,000 flights over five days and cost about $380 million of revenue 8.

In 2025, the company's centennial year, revenue rose 3 percent to $63.4 billion 3. Premium ticket revenue grew 7 percent to $22.1 billion while main-cabin revenue fell 5 percent to $23.4 billion, as industry supply outran demand for main-cabin seats 3. Delta paid $4.8 billion on debt and finance leases and bought about 13 percent of WestJet, the Canadian airline 3.

Operating income in 2025 was $5.8 billion, $173 million below 2024, because costs rose almost as fast as revenue 3. Base pay rose 4 percent in June 2025, and wages were the main reason operating expense grew 3.

Premium cabins and the main cabin

Delta sells seats in tiers, with Delta One, First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort+ above the main cabin 3. In the September quarter premium ticket revenue of $6,818 million edged past main-cabin ticket revenue of $6,802 million, growing 18 percent against 12 percent 2. The annual report says premium yields, the fare earned per mile, have grown much faster than main-cabin yields 3.

Customers voted Delta best airline staff service in North America at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, and The Points Guy named it the best U.S. airline for the seventh year in a row 3. Cirium ranked it North America's most on-time airline for the fifth straight year 3.

SkyMiles and the American Express card

SkyMiles is the loyalty program: members earn miles flying or spending with partners such as card, hotel and car rental companies, and redeem them for flights and upgrades 3. In 2025 members redeemed miles for about 35 million award tickets, and American Express paid Delta $8.2 billion, which Delta expects to grow to $10 billion over the next few years 3.

In the September quarter those payments grew 15 percent, and the company expects the full year to exceed $9 billion 1. JD Power ranked the Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Platinum and Gold American Express cards first, second and third for airline co-brand card satisfaction in 2026 1. In the same quarter Delta added Hyatt as a SkyMiles partner 1.

Cargo, TechOps and Delta Vacations

Cargo rides in the holds of passenger planes; it brought in $900 million in 2025 and grew 29 percent in the September quarter 31. Delta TechOps, the maintenance arm, also repairs engines and parts for other airlines; that outside work earned $822 million in 2025 and $990 million in the first nine months of 2026 31.

Delta Vacations sells all-in-one holiday packages designed for SkyMiles members 3.

The Trainer refinery

Monroe Energy runs the Trainer refinery near Philadelphia, which supplies about 200,000 barrels a day, roughly 75 percent of Delta's fuel use, through its jet fuel and swaps of its other products 3. It sells the gasoline and diesel it makes to others: $5.1 billion in 2025 and $2.6 billion in the September quarter alone 32. Its fuel hedges, contracts meant to offset swings in fuel prices, lost $416 million in that quarter 2.

Network, fleet and bases

Delta's core hubs are Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, with coastal hubs in Boston, Los Angeles, New York's LaGuardia and JFK, and Seattle 3. At the end of 2025 it offered up to 5,500 peak-day flights to more than 300 destinations on six continents 3.

On 30 September 2026 it flew 1,005 mainline aircraft with an average age of 14.9 years, plus 325 regional jets flown by Endeavor, SkyWest and Republic 2. Its largest maintenance base and most principal offices sit at or near Atlanta's airport on land leased from the City of Atlanta 3.

The people

Ed Bastian has been chief executive since May 2016 3. On 1 April 2026 Peter Carter became president, Dan Janki moved from finance chief to chief operating officer and Erik Snell became chief financial officer, after president Glen Hauenstein retired 1019. Delta had about 103,000 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2025, about 20 percent of them in unions 3.

The 17,260 Delta pilots, represented by ALPA, are the largest union group 3. Staff share in profits: Delta paid them $1.3 billion in February 2026 for 2025 3.

Rivals

At home Delta competes with network carriers American and United, point-to-point carriers Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest, and low-cost carriers such as Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit 3. Abroad it faces foreign airlines and the rival Star Alliance and oneworld groups, which link United and American with foreign partners 3.

Current problems

Fuel is the largest pressure: the adjusted fuel price in the September quarter was $3.61 a gallon, up 60 percent, and non-fuel unit costs rose 7.3 percent 1. A class action filed in July 2015 accuses Delta, American, United and Southwest of conspiring to restrain capacity; in September 2025 the court refused Delta's request to revisit summary judgment 3. Delta says the claims are without merit 3.

The Department of Transportation ordered the Aeromexico joint venture's antitrust immunity ended from 1 January 2026, but on 20 August 2026 the appeals court vacated the order as arbitrary and capricious 12. Delta has also delayed its planned Atlanta to Riyadh service, citing evolving developments in the region 11.

The umbrella, in words

The 2025 subsidiaries exhibit names Endeavor Air, the regional airline Delta owns, Monroe Energy and MIPC for the refinery, Delta Vacations, Delta Flight Products and four SkyMiles companies in the Cayman Islands 43. SkyMiles IP Ltd is the borrower under the SkyMiles term loan 2. The exhibit says certain subsidiaries were left out under the SEC's rules 4.

Delta owns stakes in its airline partners: 49 percent of Virgin Atlantic, about 19 percent of Grupo Aeroméxico, about 11 percent of LATAM and 3 percent of Air France-KLM 3. It holds 14.8 percent of Hanjin KAL, Korean Air's largest shareholder 23.

It also holds 2 percent of China Eastern, 13 percent of WestJet, 14 percent of Republic Airways, 20 percent of Unifi Aviation and 36 percent of Wheels Up, whose votes are capped at 29.9 percent 2. In October 2022 it invested $60 million in Joby Aviation, the air-taxi developer 15.

Delta leases most of the land and buildings it uses, owns its reservations centers in Atlanta, Minnesota and North Dakota, and through Monroe owns the Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania 3. Its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange 3. Berkshire Hathaway reported holding 8.7 percent of that stock in a filing dated August 2026 14.

For the December quarter Delta guided to revenue about 20 percent higher than a year earlier and an operating margin of 7 to 9 percent, assuming fuel at about $4.25 a gallon 1. For the full year it expects free cash flow of about $2.5 billion, below the $3 billion to $4 billion it affirmed in July 19.

The company plans to pay down more than $2 billion of debt in 2026 and end the year with gross leverage of about 2.2 times 1. Gross leverage here is adjusted debt measured against earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent 1. Bastian named the longer-term framework as "mid-teens margins and returns, durable free cash flow and gross leverage of approximately one times" 1.

The company expects capital spending of over $5 billion in 2026, mostly on aircraft 2. Delta has ordered 30 Boeing 787-10 jets for delivery from 2031, and 16 Airbus A330-900neo and 15 A350-900 jets for delivery from 2029 2. It also holds commitments for 100 Boeing 737-10 aircraft 2.

Delta says it plans to connect Saudi Arabia to its network in March 2027 11. It has announced routes starting in 2027 such as Seattle to Tokyo-Narita, Los Angeles to Manila and Boston to Venice 1.

The pilots' contract becomes amendable on 31 December 2026 3. The union's leaders have moved talks to the slower traditional path under the Railway Labor Act, citing management's demands on scheduling, One Mile at a Time reported 13.

Delta expects the money American Express pays it to grow to $10 billion over the next few years, from $8.2 billion in 2025 3.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2150 per share, payable on 5 November 2026 2. A $1.0 billion buyback authorization runs through June 2028, with no shares bought under it so far 2.

Over the long run Delta aims for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its airline operations by 2050, and it has backed new aircraft designs from JetZero and Maeve 3.

Past

Delta Air Lines' revenue grew from $39 billion in fiscal 2016 to $63 billion in fiscal 2025, rising 5.4% a year, with increases in 8 of 9 years. The deepest fall was 64% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020, and net income was positive in 9 of 10 of those years. The company's net worth has moved about 7.1% a year up since fiscal 2016, when it stood at $11.28 billion. Over the three fiscal years to 2025, the diluted share count grew about 0.7% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 4% of operating cash flow. Officers and directors filed 34 sales and 0 purchases of their own stock on the open market in the year to 2026-09-30. 12

Present

In the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, Delta reported revenue of $63 billion and a profit of $5.0 billion. The most recent quarterly report on file covers the period ended 2026-09-30, filed 2026-10-09. Return on equity in fiscal 2025 was 24%, meaning the company earned about 24 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money, and it owed about 74 cents per dollar of assets. Shareholders' equity stood at $20.85 billion as of 2025-12-31, and book value per share was $31.89 on 654 million diluted average shares for fiscal 2025. 3412

Delta's revenue of $63 billion in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 4% by size among 14 graded names in its industry family, with a net margin of 7.9% ranking in the top 32%. Chief Executive Officer Edward H. Bastian has held that title since 2016-05-10, for 10.4 years; the 26 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 5.4 years. 1

Future

The annual report for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-03-01 under the SEC's rules for large accelerated filers. The quarterly report for the quarter ending 2027-03-31 is due by 2027-05-10. Revenue grew 7.8% a year over the last three filed years against 5.4% over all 10 filed years, and the newest year grew 2.8%. Cash from operations less capital spending is 6.1% of revenue, placing Delta in the top 39% of its family for room to expand. 41

The base case assumes fiscal 2026 revenue of about $79.20 billion and owner earnings of about $5.04 per share; a filed figure a fifth or more below either puts the base case in doubt. 5

How the company operates

Delta operates scheduled air transportation with revenue from Passenger Air Traffic at 71%, Product and Service Other Refinery at 8%, Passenger Loyalty Travel Awards at 7%, Product and Service Other Loyalty Program at 5%, Passenger Travel Related Services at 3%, Product and Service Other Miscellaneous at 2%, Product and Service Other Ancillary Businesses at 2%, and Cargo and Freight at 1%. In fiscal 2025, airline operations generated $58.29 billion and refinery operations generated $6.96 billion. All nine product lines grew against the year before in fiscal 2025. 361

New moves

On 2026-10-09, Delta Air Lines cut its 2026 forecast on fuel surge, though the CEO said demand is still strong. As of 2026-10-19, every flight into Riyadh requires the regulator's prior permission, while missiles, drones and a tug strike keep the Gulf's routes exposed. 78