United Airlines did not mention the cost of July's CrowdStrike IT outage in its earnings report. The incident especially affected Delta, which canceled thousands of flights.
The legacy carrier is on a good run, and shareholders will be hoping strong third-quarter results can help it shake off last week's Delta disappointment.
Delta Air Lines Inc. NYSE: DAL reported its third-quarter 2024 earnings report, and shares initially gapped down in reaction to the headline numbers. Investors were disappointed by the earnings-per-share (EPS) miss by 2 cents, reporting $1.50, along with a revenue miss of nearly $700 million.
Delta said its caterer was informed of a "food safety issue" in its Detroit hub and that activity there had been suspended. Delta said no customers or employees illnesses were reported.
Although Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted mixed Q3 results on Thursday, the company's valuation and post-pandemic recovery are still enticing.
United Airlines is favored over Delta following the IT outage. The airline sector is normalizing post-Covid, with United well-positioned for higher profitability and potential capital returns to shareholders. United trades at 5x 2025 EPS targets, with a projected 14% earnings growth, and has significantly reduced its debt, enhancing financial stability.
Airline and transportation stocks have been under pressure from weakening consumer discretionary trends lately, especially as inflation is now threatening to spike again after the – arguably premature – interest rate cuts coming from the Federal Reserve (the Fed), being the most aggressive policy shift since late 2007 in face of the financial crisis of 2008.
On Thursday, Delta Air Lines announced that it expects a minor revenue hit in the fourth quarter due to the upcoming presidential election, and lower demand for travel before and after.
Delta Air Lines continues to demonstrate resilience in the business travel sector, building on strong performance from previous quarters as it reported third-quarter financial results Thursday (Oct. 10). Corporate travel sales rose 7%, driven by the airline's focus on premium offerings, which have consistently outperformed main cabin sales.
DAL's third-quarter 2024 cargo revenues improve 27% year over year.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL ) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call October 10, 2024 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Julie Stewart - Vice President, IR Ed Bastian - CEO Glen Hauenstein - President Dan Janki - CFO Tim Mapes - SVP & Chief Communications Officer Peter Carter - EVP, External Affairs Conference Call Participants David Vernon - Bernstein Jamie Baker - JPMorgan Savi Syth - Raymond James Mike Linenberg - Deutsche Bank Conor Cunningham - Melius Research Duane Pfennigwerth - Evercore ISI Scott Group - Wolfe Research Brandon Oglenski - Barclays Tom Fitzgerald - TD Cowen Ravi Shanker - Morgan Stanley Sheila Kahyaoglu - Jefferies Andrew Didora - Bank of America Stephen Trent - Citi Leslie Josephs - CNBC Alison Sider - Wall Street Journal Mary Schlangenstein - Bloomberg News Operator Good morning, everyone and welcome to the Delta Airlines September Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Matthew, and I will be your coordinator.
Bookings were expected to pick up in the weeks after the Nov. 5 election.