Finance · Healthcare
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported financial results for the September quarter and provided its outlook for the December quarter and full year 2026.
“Demand remains strong, supported by consumers’ growing preference for experiences and travel, with air travel continuing to be one of the best values in the consumer economy," said Ed Bastian, Delta's Chief Executive Officer. "Against this backdrop, we delivered September quarter pre-tax profit of $1.5 billion, matching last year's performance, and generated $1.9 billion of free cash flow year-to-date. Our resilience reflects the structural durability we’ve built over many years, enabling us to effectively navigate one of the most elevated fuel environments in recent times. The foundation of that resilience is our people, whose commitment to delivering for our customers continues to set Delta apart."
Bastian continued, "For the full year, we expect to generate a pre-tax profit of roughly $4.5 billion, absorbing a $6 billion increase in fuel costs. Looking ahead, our focus remains on profitable growth and delivering against our long-term financial framework, including mid-teens margins and returns, durable free cash flow and gross leverage of approximately one times."
September Quarter 2026 GAAP Financial Results
Operating revenue of $20.2 billion
Operating income of $1.5 billion with an operating margin of 7.2%
Pre-tax income of $1.1 billion with a pre-tax margin of 5.3%
Earnings per share of $1.15
Operating cash flow of $1.7 billion
September Quarter 2026 Non-GAAP Financial Results
Operating revenue of $17.6 billion
Operating income of $1.7 billion with an operating margin of 9.4%
Pre-tax income of $1.5 billion with a pre-tax margin of 8.5%
Earnings per share of $1.72
Operating cash flow of $1.7 billion
Read the full release on PR Newswire via download.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments or strategies for the future, should be considered “forward-looking statements” under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are not guarantees or promised outcomes and should not be construed as such. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections, goals, aspirations, commitments and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possible effects of serious accidents involving our aircraft or aircraft of our airline partners; breaches or lapses in the security of technology systems we use and rely on, which could compromise the data stored within them, as well as failure to comply with evolving global privacy and security regulatory obligations or
adequately address increasing customer focus on privacy issues and data security; disruptions in our information technology infrastructure; failure of the technology we use or depend on to perform effectively, including new and emerging technologies; increases in the price of aircraft fuel; extended
disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel, including from Monroe Energy, LLC (“Monroe”), our wholly-owned subsidiary that operates the Trainer refinery; failure to achieve expected results or returns from our commercial relationships with airlines in other parts of the world and the investments we have in
certain of those airlines; the effects of a significant disruption in the operations or performance of third parties on which we rely; failure to comply with the financial or other covenants in our financing agreements; labor-related disruptions; the effects on our business of seasonality and other factors beyond our control, such as changes in value in our equity investments, severe weather conditions, natural disasters or other environmental events, including from the impact of climate change; failure or inability of insurance to cover a significant liability at Monroe’s refinery; failure to comply with existing and future environmental regulations to which Monroe’s refinery operations are subject, including those relating to the discharge of materials into the environment, waste management, pollution prevention measures and greenhouse gas emissions; significant damage to our reputation and brand, including from exposure to significant adverse publicity or inability to achieve certain sustainability goals; our ability to retain senior management and other key employees, and to maintain our company culture; disease outbreaks or other public health threats, and measures implemented to combat them; the effects of terrorist attacks, geopolitical conflict or security events; competitive conditions in the airline industry; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate; significant problems associated with types of aircraft or engines we operate; the effects of extensive regulatory and legal compliance requirements we are subject to; the impact of laws and regulations governing environmental protection, including but not limited to regulation of hazardous substances, increased regulation to reduce emissions and other risks associated with climate change, and the cost of compliance with more stringent environmental regulations; and unfavorable economic or political conditions in the markets in which we operate or volatility in currency exchange rates.
Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and other filings filed with the SEC from time to time. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which represent our views only as of the date of this press release, and which we undertake no obligation to update except to the extent required by law.
Oct 9 · 10:30·Delta Air Lines