{"id":44801,"date":"2026-04-08T13:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=44801"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:38:14","slug":"delta-air-lines-q1-2026-earnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=44801","title":{"rendered":"Delta Air Lines Q1 2026 earnings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/DAL\/\">Delta Air Lines<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/ed-bastian\/\">Ed Bastian<\/a> said the carrier will &#8220;meaningfully reduce&#8221; its capacity growth plans in the near term as fuel costs soar, solidifying a pullback from airlines that have been roiled by a historic run-up in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/iran-war-jet-fuel-airlines.html\">jet fuel<\/a> due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/iran-war-trump-deadline.html\">Middle East war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Shares of the company were up more than 11% in early trading, extending gains U.S. carriers saw after oil prices dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Delta on Wednesday forecast adjusted per-share earnings of $1 to $1.50 in the second quarter, compared with the $1.41 a share analysts were expecting, with revenue up in the &#8220;low-teens&#8221; percentage points compared with a year earlier, above the roughly 10% Wall Street forecast. Capacity will likely be flat on the year, Delta said.<\/p>\n<p>Delta said its fuel bill will be $2 billion higher this quarter because of the spike in costs.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what Delta reported for the first quarter\u00a0compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on consensus estimates from LSEG:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Earnings per share:\u00a0<\/strong>64 cents adjusted vs. 57 cents expected<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revenue:<\/strong>\u00a0$14.2 billion adjusted vs. $14 billion expected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Delta is the first of the major U.S. airlines to report first-quarter results, though <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/UAL\/\">United Airlines<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Delta and others had already been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/iran-war-jet-fuel-airlines.html\">trimming capacity<\/a> for the current quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Less capacity can mean higher airfare, which is already on the rise. Delta also joined <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/JBLU\/\">JetBlue Airways<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and United in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/delta-checked-bag-fees.html\">raising its checked bag fees<\/a> on Tuesday. Carriers around the world are even more affected by the rise in fuel costs because of their countries&#8217; reliance on imports and have added fuel surcharges or announced fare increases.<\/p>\n<p>Bastian said that demand remains strong, despite the higher travel costs, and that Delta&#8217;s customer base continues to spend on travel, particularly for higher-end products like more spacious seats.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters, Bastian said it isn&#8217;t clear if or when customers will pull back.<\/p>\n<p>Delta owns a refinery where it turns crude oil into jet fuel and other products, like gasoline and diesel, giving it an advantage over other carriers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t know where fuel is going to go, but to the extent fuel stays elevated, that refinery will continue to help us,&#8221; Bastian told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Delta expects to post $1 billion in pretax profit in the second quarter and receive a $300 million benefit from its refinery, the carrier said, a major tail wind for the facility near Philadelphia that it acquired in April 2012 from <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/PSX\/\">Phillips 66.<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The rise in jet fuel prices since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, has been sharper than the run-up in crude oil. Jet fuel prices in major U.S. cities were up nearly 88% since Feb. 27, through April 6, according to the Airlines for America industry group, citing Argus data.<\/p>\n<p>Delta expects all-in fuel costs of $4.30 per gallon in the second quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Bastian said the airline isn&#8217;t walking back its full-year forecast but isn&#8217;t updating it either because of uncertainty of fuel prices. Delta projected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/01\/10\/delta-air-lines-dal-4q-2024-earnings.html\">potentially record earnings<\/a> this year when it released its last earnings in January.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As we gain more knowledge of the impact of the duration of the fuel spike over the course of the next couple months, we&#8217;ll be in a better position,&#8221; Bastian said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/oil-prices-iran-war-trump-deadline-strait-hormuz.html\">Oil futures<\/a> were sharply lower on Wednesday after President\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> said Tuesday that he agreed to suspend\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/iran-war-trump-deadline.html\">planned attacks on Iranian infrastructure<\/a>\u00a0for two weeks, backing off of threats to imminently order the destruction of Iran&#8217;s &#8220;whole civilization,&#8221; and Iran agreed to open the key Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, premium travel demand continues to drive results. Delta said premium ticket revenue, from first class and other more expensive options compared with coach, was up 14% in the first quarter over last year. Main cabin revenue increased for the first time since late 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Capacity, however, fell 3% in the first three months of 2026 compared with last year &#8220;as continued investment in fleet renewal drove premium seat mix higher.&#8221; the company said.<\/p>\n<p>Rival United, the second-most profitable U.S. carrier, has been trying to increase its premium seat footprint, investing in new onboard technology, revamped suites and other perks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think they&#8217;re smart trying to copy us,&#8221; Bastian said.<\/p>\n<p>Bastian said Delta did see a drop in some business travel during the hourslong Transportation Security Administration lines at airports last month due to the partial government shutdown but that travel segment appears to have recovered.<\/p>\n<p>For the first quarter, Delta posted a net loss of $289 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with net income of $240 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier, as its costs rose in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Adjusted for one-time items Delta had net income of $423 million, or 64 cents a share, up from $291 million, or 45 cents a share, during the same period last year. <\/p>\n<p>Revenue, adjusted for third-party sales from its refinery and other items, rose more than 9% to $14.2 million in the first quarter.<\/p>\n<p><em>Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Delta reported adjusted net income of $423 million. A previous version of this story described it as net income.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/08\/delta-air-lines-q1-2026-earnings.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier will &#8220;meaningfully reduce&#8221; its capacity growth plans in the near term as fuel costs soar, solidifying a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}