Delta Air Lines exceeded expectations for both profit and revenue in the fourth quarter, fueled by robust demand during the pivotal holiday season.
The airline announced on Friday that travel demand experienced a significant uptick throughout the quarter. Notably, in November and December, Delta recorded four of its top ten revenue-generating days ever, alongside impressive double-digit growth in cash bookings from both leisure and business travelers.
“As we head into 2025, we are optimistic that travel demand will sustain its momentum, with consumers increasingly gravitating towards the premium services and experiences that Delta offers,” CEO Ed Bastian stated in a prepared announcement.
Delta reported an earning of $843 million, translating to $1.29 per share. When accounting for one-time expenses, the earnings per share increased to $1.85, surpassing Wall Street’s forecast of $1.76 as per industry analysts from Zacks Investment Research.
This marked a decrease from the previous year when Delta reported earnings of $2.04 billion, or $3.16 per share.
The airline reached the upper end of its earnings forecast for the quarter that ended on December 3, having projected earnings between $1.60 and $1.85 per share.
Moreover, revenue surged to $15.56 billion from $14.22 billion in the previous year, exceeding Wall Street’s predictions of $14.99 billion.
Total revenue per available seat mile also improved, climbing to $21.60 from $20.78 recorded a year earlier.
Another factor contributing to Delta’s success was a reduction in fuel expenses during the quarter. Fuel costs dropped to $2.41 billion, down from $2.94 billion, with the average price per gallon falling to $2.36 from $3.01.
Following its earnings report, Delta’s shares soared by over 6% in premarket trading, bolstered by the company’s revised expectation for full-year earnings, now projected to exceed $7.35 per share, with first-quarter earnings estimated between 70 cents and $1. This estimate was above analysts’ expectations of $6.11 for the full year and 77 cents for the first quarter, according to FactSet.
Delta’s strong performance in the latest quarter had a positive ripple effect on stock prices for other airlines during premarket trading, with American Airlines gaining over 4%, JetBlue up by around 2%, and United Airlines increasing by more than 5%.
Moreover, according to aviation-data provider Cirium, Delta led U.S. carriers in on-time arrivals last year, despite facing a major operational setback resulting from a computer outage that led to thousands of flight cancellations in July.
The Atlanta-based airline achieved an impressive on-time performance rate of over 83%, ranking third globally, just behind Aeromexico and Saudia. Other U.S. airlines trailing Delta included United Airlines, with nearly 81%, and Alaska Airlines at just above 79%, as reported by Cirium.
