Delta Air Lines (DAL) Q2 2026 earnings

Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier will hit its original profit target this year as the airline passes on higher fuel bills to customers and expects its pricing power to continue even as oil prices fall from multi-year highs.

“I think this is sustainable,” Bastian told CNBC in an interview. He said prices were likely to remain strong thanks to strong demand, more diverse seating options and a more disciplined airline industry learning from the past, and it was unlikely to increase capacity as oil fell.

Delta on Friday forecast third-quarter earnings of $2.00 to $2.50 per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.02 per share for the period. The company also forecast revenue to grow in the mid-teens compared to July-September 2025. For the full year, the carrier reaffirmed its January earnings forecast of $6.50 per share to $7.50 per share.

Here’s what Delta reported for the second quarter compared to Wall Street’s expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:

• Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.56, expected $1.48
• Revenues: $17.67 billion versus the expected $17.53 billion

Bastian stated that demand is generally strong and that Delta, the most profitable airline in the USA, appeals to high-income customers in the K-shaped economy.

Indeed, premium seat sales have outpaced the back of the aircraft in bus. Premium tickets, such as first class, generated $6.92 billion in revenue in the quarter, while the main cabin reported $6.85 billion in revenue.

Bastian said World Cup demand was stronger than expected, including from visitors to the United States. The airline also said in its earnings release that corporate travel increased in the second quarter, with the aerospace and defense, banking and automotive sectors leading the growth.

Carriers have scaled back growth plans and cut unprofitable flights after this year’s record increase in fuel and soaring airfares. May airfares are up nearly 27% from last year, according to the latest federal data, but executives say they still haven’t passed the full cost of the higher fuel bill on to consumers. Delta is delivering about 60% to consumers, which should approach 100% this quarter, Bastian said.

Delta’s revenue per available seat mile in the second quarter, a measure of how much an airline brings in for each seat it flies, rose 17% from a year earlier, but its cost per available seat mile rose 21%. (Delta has other revenue streams, including cargo, maintenance business, and fuel refinery.)

Delta’s net income fell 25% to $1.6 billion, or $2.44 per share, in the second quarter from a year earlier, but operating income increased 19% to $19.76 billion over the 2025 period. Adjusting for one-time items, including third-party refinery sales, Delta reported earnings of $1.03 billion, or $1.56 per share.

Delta’s refinery was also a bright spot; Revenue at the Trainer, Pennsylvania facility rose 83% to $2.09 billion.