Delta Soars: How the Holiday Rush Ignites a Robust Fourth Quarter

Delta Air Lines exceeded profit and revenue forecasts in the fourth quarter due to robust demand during the vital holiday season.

Delta announced on Friday that travel demand surged throughout the quarter. In November and December, the airline noted that it experienced four of its top 10 revenue days ever and a remarkable increase in cash bookings, attributed to both leisure and business travelers.

“As we head into 2025, we anticipate strong travel demand to persist, with consumers increasingly pursuing the premium offerings and experiences that Delta delivers,” stated CEO Ed Bastian in a prepared statement on Friday.

The company reported earnings of $843 million, or $1.29 per share. Excluding special charges, earnings per share were $1.85, significantly surpassing Wall Street expectations of $1.76, as per industry analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

In the prior year, Delta recorded earnings of $2.04 billion, or $3.16 per share.

Delta achieved the upper limits of its projected earnings for the three-month period ending Dec. 3, having estimated a range between $1.60 and $1.85 per share.

Revenue increased to $15.56 billion, up from $14.22 billion a year ago, also exceeding Wall Street estimates of $14.99 billion.

Total revenue per available seat mile rose to $21.60 from $20.78 the previous year.

Delta also profited from a decrease in fuel prices during the quarter. Fuel expenses dropped to $2.41 billion from $2.94 billion. The average fuel cost per gallon decreased to $2.36 from $3.01.

Shares of Delta surged more than 6% prior to the opening bell on Friday after the company stated that it now expects full-year earnings to surpass $7.35 per share, with first-quarter earnings anticipated to be between 70 cents and $1.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted full-year earnings of $6.11 per share and first-quarter earnings of 77 cents.

Delta’s strong performance in the quarter also led to an increase in shares for other airlines during premarket trading, with American Airlines rising more than 4%, JetBlue increasing by about 2%, and United Airlines gaining over 5%.

Among U.S. carriers, Delta ranked highest for on-time arrivals last year, as reported by aviation-data provider Cirium last week. This was despite a computer malfunction that resulted in thousands of flight cancellations in July.

Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, achieved an on-time performance rate exceeding 83%, ranking third globally, behind Aeromexico and Saudia. The next best U.S. carriers were United Airlines, at almost 81%, and Alaska Airlines, just over 79%, according to Cirium.