Delta Airlines Inc.
DAL,
reported a top- and bottom-line beat with its fourth-quarter results Friday, although the company’s stock was falling 5.1% in premarket trades after Delta delivered lowered earnings guidance. Net income was $2.04 billion, or $3.16 a share, compared with $828 million, or $1.29 a share, in the prior year’s quarter. Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, came in at $1.28, compared with $1.48 in the same period last year, and beat the FactSet consensus of $1.16. Revenue was $14.2 billion, a 6% increase from the prior year’s quarter. Adjusted revenue was $13.7 billion, an 11% increase on the same period last year, beating expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for revenue of $13.5 billion. For 2024, Delta expects earnings of $6 to $7 a share, below the target of over $7 a share the company outlined at an investor day in December 2022.
