Sep 2026 (Q3 FY26) — Oct 9, 2026
Delta Air Lines Q3 FY26 — Fare and premium strength absorb $1.6B fuel hit, pretax flat at $1.5B
Read the full callDelta Air Lines (DAL) earnings
- Sep 2026
- Sep 2026 (Q3 FY26)
- Dec 2025
Delta Air Lines earnings: last reported Fri, 9 Oct 2026, for the quarter ended Sep 2026.
Reported
The figures, each with its period
Each figure keeps its basis and period; nothing is filled in.
| Metric | Value | Change | Basis | Period | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 20,186 | +21.1% YoY | Quarterly, as filed | Quarter to Sep 2026 | Revenue from operations as filed. |
| Operating margin | 7.2 | −2.9 pts YoY | Operating profit / revenue | Quarter to Sep 2026 | For the quarter; a change is in percentage points. |
| Net profit | 756 | −46.6% YoY | Quarterly, as filed | Quarter to Sep 2026 | Profit after tax as filed. |
Guidance
What management said, and what became of it
32 of 51 judged targets kept · 33 open · verdicts reflect calls analysed to Jun 2026.
| Target | Original wording | Said | Latest call | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast free WiFi on regional and remaining domestic aircraft | up and running over the next 12 to 18 months | Jun 2024 | Fast free WiFi is already available to members across nearly our entire fleet with satellite upgrades coming online in the months ahead | Achieved* |
| Full-year American Express co-brand remuneration growth | high single-digit growth | Dec 2025 | With continued momentum in both new card acquisitions and spend, we expect remuneration of $9 billion this year, up 10% over 2025. | Revised Up |
| March quarter non-fuel unit cost growth (CASM-ex) | modestly above the full year average of low single digits | Dec 2025 | Nonfuel unit costs grew 6% over prior year, reflecting lower capacity growth than planned and higher recovery costs. | Missed |
19 of DELTA AIR LINES, INC.'s 84 targets were missed. See which ones, and which are quietly gone. The 3 above are the free sample; 81 more targets are in the full ledger.
Claimed
- Revenue grew ~16% (+$2.4B) on flat capacity; total unit revenue +15.4%, accelerating 3 points from the June quarter
- Pretax profit of $1.5B (non-GAAP), consistent with last year, despite $1.6B of higher fuel expense; EPS $1.72 (non-GAAP) and operating margin 9.4%
- Diverse revenue 61% of total; premium and loyalty each grew nearly 20%, cargo and MRO each nearly 30%
- Year-to-date free cash flow $1.9B; ROIC 11% (vs 3% for domestic industry ex-Delta per Ed Bastian); Fitch upgrade to BBB flat
- Corporate sales grew double digits across sectors, cabins and hubs; week after Labor Day was the highest corporate sales week in Delta's history
Qualified
- Fuel expense rose $1.6B in Q3, more than $500M above guidance; Q4 fuel guided to $4.25/gal, roughly double last year
- Nonfuel unit costs up 7.3% on flat capacity (crew and revenue-related costs, capacity several points below plan, ~1 point from disruptions), still above the low-single-digit target
- Summer operations saw more than twice the historical-average number of weather/ATC disruption days; Q4 nonfuel unit cost improves only 1-2 points sequentially, less than some analysts modeled
- Full-year pretax profit (~$4.5B) only roughly flat to last year with fuel bill up ~60% / ~$6B; Q4 pretax guided to $1.2B
Price
$74.63 −0.98% · −$0.74
Performance +25.1% 1Y
1Y: $59.64 on 17 Oct 2025 → $74.63. High $93.66 (30 Jun 2026), low $55.65 (4 Nov 2025).
- Previous close
- $75.37
- 52-week range
- $55.65 – $93.66
- One year
- +20.86%
Overview
- Symbol
- DAL
- Sector
- Industrials
- Exchange
- US
- Currency
- USD
Guidance
What management said, and what became of it
32 of 51 judged targets kept · 33 open · verdicts reflect calls analysed to Jun 2026.
| Target | Original wording | Said | Latest call | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast free WiFi on regional and remaining domestic aircraft | up and running over the next 12 to 18 months | Jun 2024 | Fast free WiFi is already available to members across nearly our entire fleet with satellite upgrades coming online in the months ahead | Achieved* |
| Full-year American Express co-brand remuneration growth | high single-digit growth | Dec 2025 | With continued momentum in both new card acquisitions and spend, we expect remuneration of $9 billion this year, up 10% over 2025. | Revised Up |
| March quarter non-fuel unit cost growth (CASM-ex) | modestly above the full year average of low single digits | Dec 2025 | Nonfuel unit costs grew 6% over prior year, reflecting lower capacity growth than planned and higher recovery costs. | Missed |
Claimed
- Revenue grew ~16% (+$2.4B) on flat capacity; total unit revenue +15.4%, accelerating 3 points from the June quarter
- Pretax profit of $1.5B (non-GAAP), consistent with last year, despite $1.6B of higher fuel expense; EPS $1.72 (non-GAAP) and operating margin 9.4%
- Diverse revenue 61% of total; premium and loyalty each grew nearly 20%, cargo and MRO each nearly 30%
- Year-to-date free cash flow $1.9B; ROIC 11% (vs 3% for domestic industry ex-Delta per Ed Bastian); Fitch upgrade to BBB flat
- Corporate sales grew double digits across sectors, cabins and hubs; week after Labor Day was the highest corporate sales week in Delta's history
Qualified
- Fuel expense rose $1.6B in Q3, more than $500M above guidance; Q4 fuel guided to $4.25/gal, roughly double last year
- Nonfuel unit costs up 7.3% on flat capacity (crew and revenue-related costs, capacity several points below plan, ~1 point from disruptions), still above the low-single-digit target
- Summer operations saw more than twice the historical-average number of weather/ATC disruption days; Q4 nonfuel unit cost improves only 1-2 points sequentially, less than some analysts modeled
- Full-year pretax profit (~$4.5B) only roughly flat to last year with fuel bill up ~60% / ~$6B; Q4 pretax guided to $1.2B
The full ledger
Open DELTA AIR LINES, INC.’s full ledger
A free account opens 5 company ledgers a month. All 84 tracked commitments, with each call’s wording and source.
Call summaries
Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26) — Jul 10, 2026
Delta Air Lines Q2 FY26 — Record Revenue and Strong Profitability
Read the full callMar 2026 (Q1 FY26) — Apr 8, 2026
Delta Air Lines Q1 FY26 — Record revenue and 40% EPS growth absorb a March fuel spike
Read the full callNews
Latest news
From the news desk, item by item, hours after each call.
Every analysed call
Delta Air Lines earnings calls (DAL)
Financials
What the filings say
Net profit, year on year: −47% (quarter to sep 2026 against sep 2025).
| Line item | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 15,560 | 14,040 | 16,648 | 16,673 | 16,003 | 15,854 | 19,757 | 20,186 |
| Expenses | 13,843 | 13,471 | 14,546 | 14,989 | 14,536 | 15,353 | 17,893 | 18,732 |
| Operating profit | 1,717 | 569 | 2,102 | 1,684 | 1,467 | 501 | 1,864 | 1,454 |
| Operating margin | 11.0% | 4.0% | 12.6% | 10.1% | 9.2% | 3.2% | 9.4% | 7.2% |
| Other income | -515 | -249 | 472 | 93 | 47 | -715 | 145 | -380 |
| Profit before tax | 1,202 | 320 | 2,574 | 1,777 | 1,514 | -214 | 2,009 | 1,074 |
| Tax rate | 29.9% | 25.0% | 17.3% | 20.3% | 19.6% | −35.0% | 20.2% | 29.6% |
| Net profit | 843 | 240 | 2,130 | 1,417 | 1,218 | -289 | 1,604 | 756 |
| EPS ($ per share) | — | 0.37 | 3.28 | 2.18 | — | -0.44 | 2.45 | 1.15 |
| Line item | Dec 2018 | Dec 2019 | Dec 2020 | Dec 2021 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity capital | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reserves | 10,039 | 12,454 | -428 | -148 | 1,170 | 5,650 | 8,783 | 13,343 |
| Total liabilities | 46,579 | 49,174 | 70,462 | 68,572 | 65,706 | 62,539 | 60,079 | 60,464 |
| Fixed assets | 28,335 | 31,310 | 26,529 | 28,749 | 33,109 | 35,486 | 37,595 | 39,743 |
| Investments | 203 | 0 | 5,789 | 3,386 | 3,268 | 1,127 | 0 | — |
| Total assets | 60,266 | 64,532 | 71,996 | 72,459 | 72,288 | 73,644 | 75,372 | 81,317 |
| Line item | Dec 2018 | Dec 2019 | Dec 2020 | Dec 2021 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | 7,014 | 8,425 | -3,793 | 3,264 | 6,363 | 6,464 | 8,025 | 8,342 |
| Cash from investing | -4,393 | -4,563 | -9,238 | -898 | -6,924 | -3,148 | -3,739 | -4,186 |
| Cash from financing | -1,726 | -2,880 | 19,356 | -3,852 | -4,535 | -3,394 | -4,260 | -3,076 |
| Net cash flow | 895 | 982 | 6,325 | -1,486 | -5,096 | -78 | 26 | 1,080 |
| Capital expenditure | -5,168 | -4,936 | -1,899 | -3,247 | -6,366 | -5,323 | -5,140 | -4,499 |
| Free cash flow | 1,846 | 3,489 | -5,692 | 17 | -3 | 1,141 | 2,885 | 3,843 |
DAL revenue by segment
| Segment | Q4 FY2024 | Q1 FY2025 | Q2 FY2025 | Q3 FY2025 | Q4 FY2025 | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 | YoY growth latest quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airline | 93% | 92% | 93% | 91% | 91% | 90% | 89% | 87% | +15.7% |
| Refinery | 11% | 12% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 13% | 13% | 15% | +65.3% |
Share of consolidated revenue by quarter. Q4 is the fiscal year less its first three quarters.
See how segments are shifting across companies → Segment Shift
DAL operating KPIs by quarter
| KPI | Dec 2024 Q4 FY24 | Mar 2025 Q1 FY25 | Sep 2025 Q3 FY25 | Dec 2025 Q4 FY25 | Mar 2026 Q1 FY26 | Jun 2026 Q2 FY26 | Change vs prior quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 100KI want to thank all 100,000 members of our team for their outstanding efforts, particularly during a busy holiday travel season.Source: earnings call transcript | — | — | — | — | 100KWe all think alike the 100,000 people of Delta understand the strategy, and they're all focused on service.Source: earnings call transcript | — |
| Gross leverage | — | 2.6 ratioOn debt, we repaid $530 million, ending the quarter with gross leverage of 2.6x.Source: earnings call transcript | 2.4 ratioStrong cash generation is able debt paydown of nearly $2 billion year-to-date with gross leverage ending the quarter at 2.4x.Source: earnings call transcript | 2.4 ratioFree cash flow of $4.6 billion supported debt reduction of $2.6 billion, and we ended the year with gross leverage of 2.4x.Source: earnings call transcript | 2.4 ratioWe ended the quarter with adjusted net debt of $13.5 billion, down 20% from last year, and gross leverage of 2.4x.Source: earnings call transcript | — | 0% |
Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.
Insider filings
125 filings between Oct 21, 2025 and Aug 5, 2026.
Open market
decisions to buy or sellPurchases
None
No insider bought shares.
Sales
$123.63M
33 sales by 12 insiders
Compensation
not trading decisions- 36
- Award — granted as compensation
- 17
- Option exercise — converted options into shares
- 39
- Tax withheld — shares kept back by the company to cover tax
Who traded
open market only| Insider | Bought | Sold | Last filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bastian Edward H | — | $38.49M | Aug 4, 2026 |
| HAUENSTEIN GLEN W | — | $33.73M | Feb 9, 2026 |
| BELLEMARE ALAIN | — | $11.92M | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Sear Steven M | — | $8.86M | Aug 5, 2026 |
| Samant Rahul D | — | $8.35M | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Laughter John E | — | $7.25M | Apr 14, 2026 |
| Carter Peter W | — | $6.74M | Aug 4, 2026 |
| DEWALT DAVID G | — | $2.88M | Aug 3, 2026 |
Latest filings (50)
| Date | Insider | What | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 2026 | Sear Steven M EVP - Global Sales & Distrib | Sale | 40,460 | $3.79M |
| Aug 5, 2026 | HUERTA MICHAEL P Director | Sale | 3,100 | $291.8K |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Sear Steven M EVP - Global Sales & Distrib | Option exercise | 40,460 | $2.07M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Sale | 35,000 | $3.25M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Bastian Edward H Chief Executive Officer | Option exercise | 206,510 | $10.19M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Option exercise | 35,000 | $1.39M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Carter Peter W President | Sale | 39,900 | $3.71M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Carter Peter W President | Option exercise | 39,900 | $1.97M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Bastian Edward H Chief Executive Officer | Sale | 206,510 | $19.16M |
| Aug 3, 2026 | DEWALT DAVID G Director | Sale | 31,756 | $2.88M |
| Jun 18, 2026 | HUERTA MICHAEL P Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | DEWALT DAVID G Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Rial Sergio Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Black Maria Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Rial Sergio Director | Tax withheld | 1,272 | $107.1K |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Taylor David S Director | Award | 3,810 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | McKenna Judith J Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Waller Kathy N Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Chiang Willie CW Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Beck Christophe Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Creed Greg Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Hale Leslie D. Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| Jun 18, 2026 | PRABHU VASANT M Director | Award | 2,380 | — |
| May 27, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Sale | 5,000 | $404.5K |
| May 27, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Sale | 25,000 | $2.04M |
| May 26, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Sale | 5,000 | $395.0K |
| May 22, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Option exercise | 9,710 | $497.4K |
| May 22, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Sale | 9,710 | $738.0K |
| May 21, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Sale | 5,000 | $367.5K |
| May 7, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Sale | 20,621 | $1.50M |
| Apr 22, 2026 | McConnell Julia Ann SVP, Controller & CAO | Award | 740 | — |
| Apr 14, 2026 | Laughter John E EVP & Chief of Operations | Sale | 15,000 | $1.07M |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Laughter John E EVP & Chief of Operations | Option exercise | 9,080 | $361.2K |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Laughter John E EVP & Chief of Operations | Option exercise | 13,460 | $792.7K |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Laughter John E EVP & Chief of Operations | Sale | 69,304 | $4.72M |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Carter Peter W President | Award | 2,960 | — |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Snell Erik Storey EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Award | 7,400 | — |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Janki Daniel C. EVP & Chief Operating Officer | Award | 5,550 | — |
| Apr 1, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Award | 2,470 | — |
| Feb 26, 2026 | Bastian Edward H Chief Executive Officer | Sale | 100,000 | $7.03M |
| Feb 9, 2026 | Sear Steven M EVP - Global Sales & Distrib | Sale | 38,600 | $2.90M |
| Feb 9, 2026 | HAUENSTEIN GLEN W President | Sale | 137,159 | $10.32M |
| Feb 9, 2026 | BELLEMARE ALAIN EVP & Pres. - International | Sale | 35,212 | $2.65M |
| Feb 6, 2026 | HAUENSTEIN GLEN W President | Sale | 123,910 | $9.26M |
| Feb 6, 2026 | HAUENSTEIN GLEN W President | Option exercise | 123,910 | $6.11M |
| Feb 6, 2026 | HAUENSTEIN GLEN W President | Sale | 165,864 | $11.78M |
| Feb 6, 2026 | Carter Peter W Chief External Affairs Officer | Sale | 27,000 | $2.02M |
| Feb 5, 2026 | HAUENSTEIN GLEN W President | Sale | 13,576 | $963.9K |
| Feb 5, 2026 | Samant Rahul D EVP & Chief Info Officer | Sale | 62,528 | $4.39M |
| Feb 4, 2026 | Ausband Allison C EVP & Chief People Officer | Award | 69,600 | — |
Source: SEC Form 4 filings. Form 4 reports transactions, not the cap table — absence of filings says nothing about how much an insider owns, and a quiet window is not a signal.
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