Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Issues Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.500-0.900 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of $14.7 billion-$15.0 billion. Delta Air Lines also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 6.500-7.500 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DAL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Dbs Bank raised Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.51.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $70.97 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $46.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Delta Air Lines has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.500-7.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $858,112.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,730. The trade was a 46.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,055,523.97. This represents a 22.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company issued strong 2026 guidance — adjusted EPS of $6.50–$7.50 (about 20% growth at the midpoint) and March‑quarter revenue guidance of +5% to +7%, signaling confident top‑line and profit expansion. Delta forecasts 20% jump in 2026 profits, orders first Boeing Dreamliners
• Positive Sentiment: Delta placed a strategic fleet order for 30 Boeing 787‑10 Dreamliners (options for more), supporting long‑term capacity growth and premium product expansion. Fleet investment underpins medium‑term revenue mix improvement. Delta Air Lines Orders Boeing 787s, Posts Record Results
• Positive Sentiment: Selected GE Aerospace GEnx engines and support for the new 787‑10s — reduces execution risk on the aircraft program and ties long‑term service relationships to GE. Delta Air Lines Selects GE Aerospace GEnx Engines to Power New 787-10s
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted Q4 EPS was $1.55 — modestly above some estimates (Blockonomi reports a beat vs $1.53) but other consensus comparisons vary, so the EPS takeaway is mixed. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Stock: Earnings Beat Expectations But Revenue Falls Short
• Neutral Sentiment: Company highlighted record revenue for the quarter and ongoing premium‑cabin focus (allocating new seat capacity to premium cabins), which supports margin expansion if demand holds. Delta Air Lines Announces December Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations materially — $14.61B reported vs ~ $15.8B consensus — and management flagged weaker near‑term demand related to a government shutdown, a key driver of negative sentiment. Delta’s stock takes a hit as revenue falls more than feared in wake of shutdown
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell in pre‑market trading after the mixed release (some outlets reporting a pre‑market plunge), reflecting investor focus on the revenue miss and near‑term demand risk despite the upbeat guidance. DAL Earnings: Delta Air Lines Stock Slumps on Mixed Q4 Results

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,091,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 94,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 13,336 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 16.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,951 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth about $10,033,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.