DAL Q1 2025 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Delta Air Lines, Inc. Q1 2025 Earnings Call
• Date: April 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Julie Stewart (Vice President of Investor Relations)
  • Ed Bastian (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Glenn Hauenstein (President)
  • Dan Janki (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Tim Mapes (Chief Marketing and Communications Officer)
  • Peter Carter (Chief External Affairs)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Delta reported pre-tax earnings of $382M for the March quarter and diluted earnings per share of $0.46, which were flat to the prior year.
• Consolidated revenue for the March quarter was $13B, up 3.3% year-over-year and a record for the March quarter.
• Operating margin for the quarter was 4.6%, which Ed described approximately as 5% in remarks.
• Free cash flow generation for the quarter totaled $1.3B after a $1.4B profit-sharing payout and $1.2B of reinvestment in the business.
• American Express co-brand remuneration grew 13% to $2.0B year-over-year, and premium and loyalty revenues were each up approximately 7% year-over-year.
• Cargo revenue increased 17% year-over-year driven by higher yields and double-digit volume growth, and MRO revenue grew 7% year-over-year on heavier engine work scopes.

Guidance

• Delta provided June quarter guidance of revenue down 2% to up 2% year-over-year and operating margin of 11% to 14%.
• June quarter diluted earnings per share guidance was $1.70 to $2.30 per share as stated by the CFO.
• Ed provided a June quarter pre-tax income outlook of $1.5B to $2.0B in prepared remarks.
• Delta is not providing an updated full year 2025 outlook at this time due to macro and policy uncertainty.
• The company expects to keep second half capacity growth flat versus last year while reducing main cabin seat growth in the second half to align supply with demand.
• June quarter non-fuel unit cost growth is expected to be up low single digit year-over-year with an ongoing target of up low single digit non-fuel unit cost growth for the long term.