Delta Air Lines Reports $1.5B Operating Income

By Tamara Parker • Sunday, October 11 10:51 • Permanent Link

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. recently released its latest 10-Q report. The company provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation in the United States and abroad, and it also operates aircraft maintenance and engineering services, vacation packages, and a refinery segment. Its network is centered on major U.S. hubs including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Salt Lake City, with international service and market presence in cities such as Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Seoul-Incheon, Tokyo, and several Latin American gateways.

For the September 2026 quarter, Delta reported operating income of $1.5 billion, down $230 million from the same quarter a year earlier, even as total operating revenue rose $3.5 billion to $20.2 billion. Passenger revenue increased $2.0 billion to $15.5 billion, led by premium products at $6.8 billion, main cabin at $6.8 billion, and loyalty travel awards at $1.3 billion; cargo revenue climbed 29% to $301 million, while other revenue jumped 48% to $4.4 billion, driven by refinery sales, loyalty-related revenue, and MRO.

Operating expense increased $3.7 billion to $18.7 billion, with aircraft fuel and related taxes up $1.8 billion to $4.4 billion and refinery expense up $1.1 billion to $2.6 billion. Salaries and related costs rose $379 million to $4.8 billion, and non-operating results swung to a $380 million expense from $93 million of income, mainly because investment losses replaced prior-year gains.

Cash from operating activities was $1.7 billion, while investing activities used $1.3 billion, producing free cash flow of $463 million. Delta also recorded $1.2 billion of cash outflows for debt and finance lease repayments, and ended the quarter with $6.9 billion of liquidity.

For the first nine months of 2026, total operating revenue increased $8.4 billion to $55.8 billion, while operating expense rose $9.0 billion to $52.0 billion. Passenger revenue reached $43.4 billion, other revenue totaled $11.5 billion, and fuel costs climbed to $11.2 billion from $7.4 billion a year earlier, reflecting a 52% increase in average jet fuel purchase price. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares -1.0% to a price of $82.14. Check out the company's full 10-Q submission here.

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