Delta Airlines Boeing 767-332 (ER).
Joan Barth | Null Photo | Getty Images
delta airlinesCEO Ed Bastian said this year’s revenue could jump more than 20% from 2025 to a record high, thanks to strong travel demand, especially in the luxury market.
Delta on Tuesday expected adjusted earnings per share of $6.50 to $7.50 this year, compared with analysts’ expectations of $7.25 per share.
The airline, the first airline to report quarterly results this year, expects revenue to rise as much as 7% in the first three months of 2026 and first-quarter adjusted earnings of 50 cents to 90 cents a share, compared with analysts surveyed by LSEG expecting 72 cents a share.
Bastian said Delta is at the top of the so-called “K” economy, meaning it makes more money from customers who spend more.
“We are looking at seat growth for next year,” Bastian told reporters. “The seat growth will effectively not be in the main cabin, it will be virtually all in the premium sector.”
Main cabin ticket revenue fell 7% from a year earlier to $5.62 billion in the fourth quarter, while premium ticket revenue for the front seats on airplanes rose 9% to nearly $5.7 billion, helping the segment outperform standard coach class and beating Delta’s expectations for the year. For the full year, main cabin revenue was still higher than premium class.
Delta Air Lines says bookings from both leisure and corporate travelers have been strong in the first few days of the year. The company started 2025 with hopes of another record year, but revised its forecasts downward after President Donald Trump introduced tariffs early last year and the longest government shutdown in history, which ended in late November, sharply reduced air travel and led to fewer bookings.
Bastian struck a more cautious tone this year, telling reporters: “I’m not going to predict or commit to record profits until I understand the uncertainty.”
“I think we are very aware of the risk factors,” he said. “This past year, and I think again this year…the geopolitical environment is going to be more important, whether it’s international policy or domestic policy.”
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter compared to Wall Street expectations, based on LSEG consensus estimates:
Earnings per share: $1.55 adjusted vs. $1.53 expected Earnings: $14.61 billion adjusted vs. $14.69 billion expected
Despite lowering its forecast, Delta Air Lines reported fourth-quarter profit of $1.22 billion ($1.86 per share), an increase of nearly 45% from the year-ago period, and revenue of $16 billion (up 3% from 2024). Delta Air Lines’ profit, adjusted for one-time items, was $1.02 billion, or $1.55 per share, slightly above expectations.
Bastian said growth in premium products was outpacing main cabin sales growth, continuing existing trends.
Delta Air Lines also announced on Tuesday that it would buy 30 planes. boeing The 787-10 Dreamliner is the first long-haul airliner from the American manufacturer as sales of large jets increase.
Delta Air Lines made the Airbus A350 its mainstay on long-haul routes nearly a decade ago, then retired its Boeing 777s during the pandemic, increasing its reliance on European aircraft makers. Delta Air Lines said deliveries would begin in 2031, the latest sign of how airlines are scrambling for delivery slots over the next decade.
The airline has an option to purchase 30 more Boeing 787-10s.
Correction: Revenue was $16 billion, up 3% from 2024. Previous versions listed the year incorrectly.
