Delta Air Lines

By Callum Keown Delta Air Lines beat earnings expectations in the first quarter and offered upbeat guidance as it flagged continuing strong travel demand. The stock jumped 4.1% ahead of the open Wednesday. The airline reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 45 cents on revenue of $12.6 billion — record first-quarter revenue. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 36 cents per share on revenue of $12.5 billion, according to FactSet estimates. Its second-quarter outlook for EPS of between $2.20 and $2.50 came in above the analysts’ consensus of $2.22. International travel remains strong, while corporate travel demand is accelerating, Delta noted. That’s good news for other large-network airlines — United Airlines stock rose 3.4% and American Airlines was up 2.7% ahead of the open. It’s also a reason to believe Delta can keep outperforming. Despite the earnings beat and impressive guidance, Delta stuck to its full-year outlook for EPS […]

Delta Air Lines Exec Says “Looks Like Industry Capacity Is Reaching A Peak In 2q. So I Think We See A Great Setup For The Back Half Of This Year”; “We Still Have More Debt Than We’re Comfortable With”.

Delta Air Lines Exec Says On Wide Body Jets, Says Co Is Now At Or Above 2019 In Terms Of Annual Utilization.

The following is a summary of the Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Delta reported pre-tax earnings of $380 million, a $0.20 improvement from the previous year, and a 6% higher revenue for Q1. Free cash flow was recorded at $1.4 billion, and the return on invested capital was nearly 14%. Delta distributed $1.4 billion amongst its employees in terms of profit-sharing. For the June quarter, Delta expects a revenue growth of 5% – 7%, earnings between $2.20 to $2.50 per share, and a target of mid-teens operating margin. In a bid to reduce its financial risk, Delta plans on reducing its debt, which is currently larger than what the company feels comfortable with. Both the upcoming Paris Olympics and struggles with American Express card acceptance rates in Europe may affect revenue projection. Business Progress: Delta delivered strong operational performance with mainline cancellations down

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: Our 12-month target of $55, up $7, is 7.7x our ’25 EPS view (down to $7.16 from $7.41; ’24’s cut to $6.15 from $6.51), below DAL’s historical average. We think a discount is merited due to ongoing issues with Boeing (BA 173 **), causing further delays in new aircraft deliveries for DAL (expected deliveries of 20 737 MAX 10 variants in ’25, now likely delayed to ’27, per DAL). Q1 EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.25, beat consensus by $0.08. Q1 revenues were up 8% Y/Y, driven by its international segment (+12%), while capacity grew 7% Y/Y. DAL reiterated its ’24 outlook (EPS in the range of $6-$7/share; FCF in the range of $3B-$4B). The EIA forecasts WTI to average $84/b in ’24 vs. $78/b in ’23; DAL

B of A Securities analyst Andrew Didora maintains Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) with a Buy and raises the price target from $50 to $53.

By Callum Keown Things are about to start looking up for U.S. airlines and investors should consider buying four stocks in particular — Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Alaska Air Group. That’s the view of UBS analysts as they initiated coverage of the airline sector in a note late Tuesday. They see the intense cost pressures facing the industry beginning to moderate later in the year and margins moving higher in late 2024 and into 2025. “The market will recalibrate its 2025 profit estimates higher as there is growing evidence of cost pressures bottoming later this year and unit revenues (revenue per available seat mile) increasing from here,” analysts led by Atul Maheswari wrote. “Plus, demand is likely to hold firm amid a stable economic backdrop and a return of business travel,” they added. But those factors will only drive select airline stocks higher, the analysts noted

Delta Reaffirmed Outlook Ahead Of Presentation At J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference: Sees FY24 EPS $6-$7, Sees Q1 EPS $0.25-$0.50.

Delta Air Lines CEO Says Travel Demand Is Strong, Says Corporate Travel Is Returning; Says Have Had 9 Of The Top 10 Sales Days In Our History All Within The Last 10 Weeks.

Delta Air Lines Nearly Doubling Its Seat Offerings YoY With 30% Increase Over 2019; Co. Will Also Resume Flights From LaGuardia And Detroit And Expand Services From Atlanta.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) plans to move forward with its order for 100 Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, CNBC reported Friday, citing Delta CEO Ed Bastian. Delta ordered the aircraft in 2022 and deliveries are expected to begin in 2025, the report said. The Max 10 is the largest model of Boeing 737 and has still not received approval from regulators, according to the report. Boeing is facing issues related to the Max 9 aircraft as it was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration following an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5. “We certainly will not take them ’til we have 1,000% confidence that that plane is fully secure, fully safe and…everyone has signed off to that,” Bastian told CNBC. Delta and Boeing did not immediately respond to MT Newswires’ requests for comment. Delta shares were down nearly 3.2% in recent Friday trading.

The following is a summary of the Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Delta Air Lines reported record revenues of $55 billion for 2023, about 20% higher than pre-pandemic, including a record December quarter revenue of $13.7 billion, 11% higher than 2022. It delivered earnings of $6.25 per share and pretax income of $5.2 billion in the year, nearly doubling the performance of 2022. The company reported a Q4 pretax profit of $1.1 billion, with total earnings of $1.28 per share. It generated $2 billion in free cash flow after gross CapEx of $5.3 billion, and repaid over $4 billion of gross debt. For Q1 2024, earnings are expected to range from $0.25 and $0.50 per share on approximately 5% operating margin, with a full year forecast of earnings between $6 to $7 per share. Business Progress: Delta Air Lines enhanced its premium offerings