Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier’s original profit goal is in reach this year as the airline passes higher fuel bills along to customers and expects that pricing power to last even as oil prices drop from multi-year highs.
“I think it’s sustainable,” Bastian told CNBC in an interview. He said fares will likely stay strong thanks to robust demand, more diverse seat options and a more disciplined airline industry that’s learned from the past and isn’t likely to expand capacity as soon oil falls.
Delta on Friday forecast third-quarter earnings of between $2.00 per share to $2.50 per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.02 a share for the period. The company also projected revenue would be up in the mid-teens compared with the July-through-September period of 2025. For the full-year, the carrier reaffirmed its January earnings forecast of between $6.50 per share and $7.50 per share.
Here’s what Delta reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on consensus estimates from LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.56 adjusted vs. $1.48 expected
- Revenue: $17.67 billion adjusted vs. $17.53 billion expected
Bastian said demand is strong across the board, noting that Delta, the U.S.’s most profitable airline, caters to higher-income customers in the K-shaped economy.
Indeed, its premium seat sales outpaced the back of the plane in coach. Its premium tickets like first class brought in $6.92 billion in revenue for the quarter, while the main cabin reported $6.85 billion in revenue.
Bastian said World Cup demand was stronger than expected, including from inbound visitors to the U.S. In an earnings release, the airline also said corporate travel rose in the second quarter, with the aerospace and defense, banking and automotive sectors leading growth.
Carriers have scaled back growth plans and pruned unprofitable flights after this year’s record run-up in fuel, and airfares have surged. According to the latest federal data, May airfare was up nearly 27% compared with last year, though executives say they still haven’t passed the entirety of the higher fuel bill on to consumers. Bastian said Delta was passing along about 60% to consumers, and that should get to close to 100% this quarter.
Delta’s second-quarter revenue per available seat mile, a measure of how much an airline is bringing in for each seat it flies, was up 17% from a year earlier, though its cost-per-available seat mile rose 21%. (Delta has other revenue streams including cargo, a maintenance business and its fuel refinery.)
Delta’s net income dropped 25% in the second quarter from a year earlier to $1.6 billion, or $2.44 a share, though operating revenue was up 19% from the 2025 period to $19.76 billion. Adjusting for one-time items including third-party refinery sales, Delta posted earnings of $1.03 billion, or $1.56 a share.
Delta’s refinery was also a bright spot, with revenue in the Trainer, Pennsylvania, facility surging 83% to $2.09 billion.
