DELTA AIR LINES, INC. recently released its Form 10-Q for the September 2026 quarter. Delta provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation in the United States and abroad, and also operates aircraft maintenance and engineering services, vacation packages, and a refinery business. Its network is built around hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Seattle, and international centers including Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo; the company said it operated a fleet of about 1,314 aircraft and is based in Atlanta.
Delta said operating income in the September 2026 quarter was $1.5 billion, down $230 million from the same quarter a year earlier. Total operating revenue rose 21% to $20.2 billion from $16.7 billion, with passenger revenue up 15% to $15.5 billion, cargo revenue up 29% to $301 million, and other revenue up 48% to $4.4 billion. Within passenger revenue, premium ticket sales rose 18% to $6.8 billion, main cabin ticket sales rose 12% to $6.8 billion, and loyalty travel awards increased 18% to $1.3 billion.
Delta’s revenue growth was helped by refinery sales to third parties, which climbed to $2.6 billion from $1.5 billion, and by higher loyalty and related revenue, which increased 19% to $1.3 billion. MRO revenue rose 28% to $296 million. On a reported basis, TRASM increased 21% to 25.46 cents, while adjusted TRASM rose 15% to 22.18 cents.
Operating expenses increased 25% to $18.7 billion from $15.0 billion. Fuel and related taxes jumped 69% to $4.4 billion, refinery expense rose 76% to $2.6 billion, and salaries and related costs increased 9% to $4.8 billion. Delta said the higher salary expense reflected 4% base pay increases for eligible employees and pilots, annual step-ups, and more premium pay tied to operational disruptions.
Non-operating expense was $380 million, compared with non-operating income of $93 million a year earlier, mainly because of mark-to-market losses on equity investments. Interest expense, net fell to $146 million from $171 million. Delta generated $1.7 billion of cash from operating activities, spent $1.3 billion on investing activities, and reported free cash flow of $463 million. It ended the quarter with $6.9 billion of liquidity, including cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and undrawn revolver capacity.
For the first nine months of 2026, operating revenue increased 18% to $55.8 billion from $47.4 billion. Passenger revenue rose 12% to $43.4 billion, cargo revenue increased 26% to $821 million, and other revenue climbed 47% to $11.5 billion. Operating expense increased 21% to $52.0 billion, led by a 51% increase in fuel and related taxes to $11.2 billion and a 72% jump in refinery expense to $6.3 billion. Non-operating expense totaled $951 million for the nine-month period, compared with $317 million in non-operating income a year earlier. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -1.0%, and are now trading at a price of $82.14. Check out the company's full 10-Q submission here.
