In the latest trading session, Delta Air Lines (DAL) closed at $72.31, marking a +1.43% move from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.65%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.48%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.82%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the airline had gained 1.03% lagged the Transportation sector's gain of 3.79% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.15%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Delta Air Lines in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on January 13, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.55, signifying a 16.22% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $15.42 billion, down 0.92% from the prior-year quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $5.82 per share and a revenue of $61.04 billion, signifying shifts of -5.52% and 0%, respectively, from the last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Delta Air Lines. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.67% higher. Delta Air Lines is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Delta Air Lines has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.94 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.92, which means Delta Air Lines is trading at a premium to the group.
It's also important to note that DAL currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.17. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Transportation - Airline stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 0.64 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 186, which puts it in the bottom 25% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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