Delta Air Lines (DAL) Q3 2025 Earnings

delta airlines Thanks to rising airfares and resilient luxury travel demand, we expect 2025 to end better than expected and next year to get off to a strong start.

The company on Thursday expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.60 to $1.90 per share, compared with the forecast of $1.65 per share from analysts surveyed by LSEG. Delta Air Lines said its revenue is expected to rise as much as 4% in the final three months of the year, beating Wall Street’s 1.7% estimate.

“As we move into 2026, Delta is well-positioned to achieve top-line growth, margin expansion and profit improvement, consistent with our long-term financial framework,” Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said in a statement.

Delta Air Lines’ outlook says the airline’s domestic fares and revenue will decline this year as demand improves and flight surpluses decline, especially in early 2025 when consumer confidence was volatile amid the early stages of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“Cash sales have increased since July,” Bastian said in an interview.

The Atlanta-based airline will be the first major airline to report results this quarter. The company’s shares rose about 5% in morning trading.

Here’s how the company performed in the third quarter compared to Wall Street expectations, based on LSEG’s consensus estimates.

Earnings per share: $1.71 adjusted vs. $1.53 expected Earnings: $15.2 billion adjusted vs. $15.06 billion expected

Delta Air Lines’ third-quarter profit was $1.42 billion, or $2.17 per share, an 11% increase from $1.27 billion, or $1.97 per share, in the same period last year. Earnings, adjusted for one-time items such as investment-related adjustments, rose 15% to $1.12 billion, or $1.71 per share, beating analysts’ expectations.

Adjusted revenue increased 4% year over year.

Premium travel demand continued to outpace bus cabin demand. Revenue from the luxury segment, which includes first class and larger economy seats, rose 9% to nearly $5.8 billion in the third quarter, while main cabin revenue fell 4% to about $6 billion.

Bastian said he sees no signs that consumers are moving away from premium products. Delta President Glenn Hauenstein reiterated that revenue from luxury options such as first class is on track to outpace main cabin sales next year.

Delta Air Lines and other airlines have been weeding out unprofitable and unprofitable flights, including unpopular weekday travel dates, to stem the oversupply of seats in the market. This excess capacity, along with changing consumer habits and rising costs, is making previously unexpected summer profits even more difficult for some U.S. airlines.

The airline’s domestic unit revenue rose 2% in the third quarter on a 4% increase in capacity, and Delta expects the year-over-year increase to continue this quarter. Overall domestic passenger revenue increased 5% in the third quarter due to increased corporate travel demand.

Delta Air Lines said it expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $6, at the high end of its 2025 forecast of $5.25 to $6.25 as of July.

Asked about the federal government shutdown, Bastian told CNBC that he hasn’t seen “any impact” on the airline’s operations in recent days, but that could change if it continues for another 10 days.