DELTA AIR LINES, INC. recently released its Form 10-Q for the June 2026 quarter. The company provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation in the United States and abroad, with operations organized into Airline and Refinery segments. Its network is built around hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle, alongside international positions in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.
In Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Delta said operating income for the June 2026 quarter was $1.9 billion, down $238 million from the June 2025 quarter. Total operating revenue rose $3.1 billion to $19.8 billion, with passenger revenue up $1.7 billion to $15.6 billion, cargo revenue up 39% to $294 million, and other revenue up 50% to $3.9 billion. On an adjusted basis, total revenue increased $2.2 billion, or 14%, to $17.9 billion, excluding third-party refinery sales.
Delta said the revenue increase reflected higher pricing tied to the rapid rise in fuel costs and broad demand strength across premium, main cabin, corporate, and loyalty travel. Domestic passenger revenue rose 15% to $10.7 billion on 2% higher capacity, while Atlantic passenger revenue increased 8% to $3.1 billion, Latin America revenue rose 4% to $990 million, and Pacific revenue climbed 15% to $832 million. For the first six months of 2026, total operating revenue increased $4.9 billion to $35.6 billion, with passenger revenue up $2.6 billion to $27.9 billion and other revenue up $2.3 billion to $7.2 billion.
Operating expenses increased $3.3 billion, or 23%, to $17.9 billion in the June quarter. Aircraft fuel and related taxes rose $1.7 billion to $4.1 billion, refinery expense increased $950 million to $2.1 billion, and salaries and related costs climbed $360 million to $4.8 billion. Delta said the fuel increase was driven by an 80% rise in average jet fuel purchase price and higher consumption, while salaries and related costs reflected 4% base pay increases for eligible employees and pilots. Adjusted operating expense rose $2.7 billion, or 20%, to $16.0 billion, and CASM increased 21%, while CASM-Ex rose 6.8%.
For the six months ended June 30, operating expense increased $5.2 billion, or 19%, to $33.2 billion. Fuel expense rose $2.0 billion to $6.9 billion, refinery expense increased $1.5 billion to $3.7 billion, and salaries and related costs increased $817 million to $9.3 billion. Profit sharing fell $101 million to $493 million for the six-month period.
Non-operating income fell to $145 million in the June quarter from $472 million a year earlier, mainly because mark-to-market gains on equity investments were lower. Interest expense, net declined to $144 million from $172 million, helped by debt reduction. For the six months, Delta reported a non-operating loss of $571 million, compared with a $224 million loss in the prior-year period.
Cash from operating activities was $1.6 billion in the June quarter, supported by ticket sales and SkyMiles sales to partners, including $2.4 billion from American Express. Investing activities used $1.5 billion, mainly for capital expenditures, leaving free cash flow of $209 million. Delta also reported $536 million of cash outflows for debt and finance lease repayments. As of June 30, 2026, liquidity totaled $7.7 billion. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -1.81%, and are now trading at a price of $87.39. For more information, read the company's full 10-Q submission here.
