DAL Q4 2025 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Delta Air Lines, Inc. Q4 2025 Earnings Call
• Date: January 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Julie Stewart (Vice President of Investor Relations)
  • Ed Bastian (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Glenn Hauenstein (President)
  • Paul Jacobson (Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer)
  • Joe Esposito (Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer)
  • Trevor Banster (Corporate Communications)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Full-year revenue was $58.3B and represents a company record for 2025.
• Full-year operating margin was 10% and full-year pre-tax income was $5.0B.
• Full-year GAAP earnings per share were $5.82 for 2025.
• Free cash flow for 2025 was $4.6B, described as the highest in Delta's history and the top end of the long-term financial framework.
• Delta generated $10B of free cash flow over the past three years, enabling debt reduction and leverage improvement of more than 50% over that period.
• Fourth quarter revenue was $14.6B, up 1.2% year-over-year, and fourth quarter pre-tax profit was $1.3B with EPS of $1.55.
• The government shutdown reduced fourth quarter pre-tax profit by $200M, or $0.25 per share, and impacted capacity growth by about 1 percentage point.
• Full-year return on invested capital was 12%, which management stated is above cost of capital and industry peers.
• Full-year adjusted net debt was approximately $14B and gross leverage ended the year at 2.4 times with $35B of unencumbered assets.

Guidance

• For the March quarter, revenue growth is expected to be 5% to 7% year-over-year.
• First quarter earnings per share guidance is $0.50 to $0.90 and first quarter operating margin is expected to be 4.5% to 6%.
• Full-year 2026 EPS guidance is $6.50 to $7.50, which represents 20% year-over-year growth at the midpoint.
• Full-year 2026 free cash flow is expected to be $3B to $4B, below 2025, driven by higher CapEx and transition to a partial tax payer.
• Full-year capacity (ASMs) is planned to grow about 3% with new seat growth concentrated in premium cabins.
• Full-year 2026 CapEx is planned at $5.5B, including around 50 aircraft deliveries.
• Full-year non-fuel unit cost (CASM ex-fuel) is expected to remain within the long-term low single-digit framework, with first quarter non-fuel CASM modestly above the full-year average.