Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyDelta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL – Get Free Report) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.000-1.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.090. The company issued revenue guidance of -, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.9 billion.
Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.2%
DAL traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.91. 11,628,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,354,233. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.73. The firm has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.31. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $38.66 and a 1 year high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.40.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.
Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
DAL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.14.
Read Our Latest Report on Delta Air Lines
Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines
In other Delta Air Lines news, insider Peter W. Carter sold 27,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total transaction of $2,020,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 421,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,554,886.08. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total value of $2,647,942.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,390,835.20. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines
Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Brokerage optimism: several firms raised price targets and kept buy ratings (UBS to $86, TD Cowen to $84, Raymond James to $80, Argus to $85, Citigroup to $79), supporting upside expectations. Brokerage Price Target Moves
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 results: Delta beat revenue and (adjusted) EPS estimates and reported record revenue, which, together with strong premium/loyalty demand, underpin longer‑term confidence in margins and capital returns. Q1 Financial Results
- Positive Sentiment: Refinery cushion: management says Delta’s Trainer refinery can offset a portion of higher jet‑fuel costs (management cited ~ $300M benefit in commentary), which reduces—though does not eliminate—fuel exposure vs peers. Refinery Benefit Coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: Sector backdrop: a temporary Iran ceasefire pushed oil prices lower and fueled a rally in airline stocks — supportive if it holds, but geopolitical risk remains. MarketBeat: Delta Gains Altitude
- Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity was flagged, indicating higher short‑term trading interest but not a directional signal by itself. Options Activity Report
- Negative Sentiment: Q2 profit guidance miss risk: Delta updated Q2 EPS guidance to $1.00–$1.50, well below the ~ $2.09 consensus — a key reason for weaker near‑term sentiment. Guidance & Analyst Commentary
- Negative Sentiment: Fuel shock and capacity cuts: management expects >$2B of incremental jet‑fuel expense and is pulling planned capacity growth to protect margins, which pressures near‑term profitability despite actions to recapture some cost. Fuel Headwind & Capacity Actions
- Negative Sentiment: Customer fee increases and capacity rebalancing signal revenue mix shifts and potential customer pushback; these are pragmatic near‑term fixes but reflect margin pressure. Baggage Fee Hike
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $555,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 19.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.
Delta Air Lines Company Profile
Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.
The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.