Delta Air Lines closed out the year by doubling its quarterly profit as travel demand, particularly for international trips, helped drive record revenue in 2023. CEO Ed Bastian said continued strong travel demand could boost earnings this year.
Still, the company cut its full-year profit outlook from a previous forecast, and the stock fell 9% on Friday, with other major carriers’ shares also tumbling.
Delta on Friday forecast adjusted earnings per share of between $6 and $7 for 2024, below the more than $7 a share the carrier predicted last year. Delta posted adjusted earnings of $6.25 a share in 2023.
“Business is going great. Just go to any airport,” Bastian told CNBC in an interview.
Delta said it expects revenue in the first quarter of 2024 to increase 3% to 6% over the prior-year period. The carrier forecast earnings per share of between 25 cents and 50 cents, within the range analysts are projecting, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
The winter is typically one of the slowest periods for air travel. Airlines have also been navigating cooling fares and higher expenses such as fuel and labor.
Delta is the first of the major U.S. carriers to report fourth-quarter results.
Here’s how the company performed in the three months ending Dec. 31, 2023, compared to Wall Street expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:
- Adjusted earnings per share: $1.28 vs. $1.17 expected.
- Adjusted revenue: $13.66 billion vs. $13.52 billion expected.
Delta reported $2.04 billion in net income for the last three months of 2023, up from $828 million a year ago. Revenue rose 6% to $14.22 billion from a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, Delta posted adjusted revenue of $13.66 billion, slightly ahead of LSEG estimates. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.28 topped analysts’ estimates for $1.17 a share in the fourth quarter.
Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, said in a news release that the carrier has seen strong demand for international travel that has outpaced…
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