Founded in 1924, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) has spent more than a century turning the sky into its playground. Today, it ranks among the largest airlines in the world, carrying passengers and cargo across a domestic and international network. With an estimated revenue of $57 billion, the carrier operates a fleet of more than 1,300 aircraft.
On the airline side, the Atlanta, Georgia-based giant draws revenue from aircraft maintenance, repair, and third-party overhaul services, vacation package offerings, and refinery operations that help support its fueling needs.
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The airline is now approaching its second quarter 2026 financial report, scheduled for Friday, July 10, before the opening bell. Wall Street expects Delta to post diluted EPS of $1.43, down 31.9% from $2.10 in the same quarter last year. However, Delta has established a practice of clearing the bar when it counts. The company has topped analysts’ EPS estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Further on the runway, analysts forecast full fiscal 2026 EPS of $5.34, representing an 8.3% year-over-year decline. The vision is much brighter beyond that. For the full fiscal year 2027 diluted EPS is expected to rise to $7.55, which would mark a 41.4% increase compared to last year.
Over the past 52 weeks, DAL stock is up 82.9%, leaving the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which has gained 20.8%, far behind. The trend continues in 2026, as shares of Delta Air Lines have advanced nearly 30.6% year to date, while the benchmark index has posted a modest gain of 7.5%.
The same story plays out with peers in the field. The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) has returned 24.2% over the past 52 weeks and will gain 16.2% in 2026. The numbers are theirs, but they still fall short of Delta’s strong performance.
Investors got another reason for optimism on Wednesday, June 24. Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Iran war, taking some heat off worries about jet fuel costs. The development gave DAL stock a boost, sending shares up as much as 4.5% during intraday trading.
