Delta Q3 Earnings Take Flight
Delta Air Lines released better-than-expected quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday.
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Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) released its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had $1.80 in earnings per share (EPS) and $11.95 billion in revenue, which compares with consensus estimates of $1.74 in EPS and revenue of $11.94 billion. In the same period of last year, the airline operator said it had EPS of $1.57 and $11.06 billion in revenue.
During the quarter, the total revenue per available seat mile increased by 4.3%, while the cost per available seat mile excluding fuel costs increased 2.9%.
In terms of its segments, the company reported:
- Domestic revenues increased 9.2% year over year to $7.4 billion.
- Atlantic revenues increased 10.7% to $2.0 billion.
- Pacific revenues increased 3.0% to $730.0 million.
- Latin America revenues decreased 2.6% to $675.0 million.
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Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $1.10 to $1.30 and total revenue growth up about 8%. Consensus estimates call for $1.25 in EPS and $10.78 billion in revenue.
Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, commented:
Our solid eight percent revenue growth, combined with flat non-fuel unit cost performance, helped offset 85 percent of the $655 million fuel cost increase in the quarter. These achievements are a testament to the strength of the Delta business model and the hard work of the Delta people, and I am pleased to recognize their performance with an additional $395 million toward 2018 profit sharing. Our commercial momentum and improved cost trajectory give us confidence that we are on a path to deliver continued top-line growth and expand margins as we move into 2019.
Shares of Delta closed Wednesday at $49.71, with a consensus analyst price target of $67.27 and a 52-week trading range of $48.33 to $60.79. Following the announcement, the stock was up 3% at $51.40 in early trading indications Thursday.
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Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.
