Delta Q3 Earnings & Revenues Top on Rosy Travel Demand, Low Fuel Costs

Delta Air Lines DAL reported third-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 46 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.71 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52. Earnings increased 14% on a year-over-year basis due to low fuel costs.

Revenues in the September-end quarter were $16.67 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.79 billion and increasing 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Due to improving air-travel demand, adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 4.1% year over year to $15.2 billion. 

Delta Air Lines Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Delta Air Lines price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Delta Air Lines Quote

Other Details of DAL’s Q3 Results

Passenger revenues, which accounted for 81% of total revenues, increased 3% year over year at $13.51 billion, just a tad short of our estimate of $13.55 billion. Domestic passenger revenues increased 5% year over year, driven by the resurgence in air-travel demand.

Delta’s diversified revenue base grew in double digits year over year, contributing to the top-line growth. Premium revenues grew 9 % year over year, with improvement across all products. Loyalty revenues too increased 9% as SkyMiles members continued to deepen engagement beyond flight. Corporate sales increased 8% year over year. Cargo revenues improved 19% year over year to $233 million, which surpassed our estimate of $203.4 million. Other revenues jumped 24% to $2.9 billion, again ahead of our estimate of $2.4 billion.

Adjusted operating margin was 11.2% in the third quarter of 2025 compared with 9.4% a year ago.

Below, we present all figures (in percentage terms) in comparison with the third-quarter 2024 results.

Revenue passenger miles (a measure of air traffic) increased 2% to 67.2 billion. Capacity (measured in available seat miles) expanded 4% to 79 billion. The load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) decreased 100 basis points to 86%, just below our estimate of 86.1%.

Passenger revenue per available seat mile declined 1% to 17.08 cents. Passenger mile yield inched up 1% to 19.97 cents. On an adjusted basis, total revenue per available seat mile inched up 0.3% to 19.22 cents.

Total operating expenses, including special items, increased 5% to $15 billion. Salaries and related costs rose 5% to $4.4 billion. This increase was due to higher wages stemming from the contract with pilots that was ratified in 2023. Fuel gallons consumed jumped 4% to $1.114 billion. Average fuel price per gallon (adjusted) fell 11% to $2.25. Non-fuel unit cost (adjusted or CASM-Ex) inched up 0.3% to 13.35 cents, reflecting strong cost management.

DAL exited the third quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $3.8 billion compared with $3.97 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2024. The company had an adjusted net debt of $15.6 billion at the end of the September quarter, a reduction of $2.4 billion from the 2024-end. Adjusted operating cash flow in the September quarter was $1.8 billion, with gross capital expenditures and free cash flow of $1.1 billion and $833 million, respectively.

DAL Issues Strong Q4 Guidance

Delta, currently carrying a Zack Rank #3 (Hold), expects fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share in the $1.6-$1.9 band. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $1.52 per share.

The adjusted operating margin is expected in the 10.5-12% band. With air-travel demand stabilizing, revenues on an adjusted basis are expected to increase in the 2-4% band from the fourth quarter of 2024 level.

DAL’s Impressive FY25 Earnings Guidance

The company expects full-year earnings to be approximately $6 per share, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.67. The current guidance is at the upper half of the previously guided range of $5.25-$6.25 per share. DAL expects free cash flow for 2025 to be in the $3.5-$4 billion band, in line with long-term targets.

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may consider Wabtec Corporation WAB and Scorpio Tankers (STNG). Each stock presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wabtec has an impressive earnings surprise track record, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter), with the average beat being 5.41%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WAB’s 2025 earnings has been revised 1.60% upward in the past 90 days.

Shares of Wabtec have gained 10.6% over the past year. WAB’s 2025 earnings are expected to grow 17.59% year over year. 

Scorpio Tankers has an impressive earnings surprise history. The shipping company’s earnings have outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the past four quarters. The average beat is 29.8%.

STNG’s shares have gained 21% over the past three months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 1.2% upward over the past 60 days at Scorpio Tankers. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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