Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, released its financial results for the September quarter of 2024 on October 10, 2024. The report highlighted a strong performance despite the impact of a CrowdStrike-caused outage. The airline reported an operating revenue of $15.7 billion and a non-GAAP operating revenue of $14.6 billion, which accounted for the outage impact. The operating income stood at $1.4 billion with a non-GAAP pre-tax income of $1.3 billion. Delta achieved an operating margin of 8.9% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 9.4%. The earnings per share were reported at $1.97, with a non-GAAP figure of $1.50. The company generated an operating cash flow of $1.3 billion and a free cash flow of $95 million, reaching $2.7 billion year-to-date. Delta...Show More

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, released its financial results for the September quarter of 2024 on October 10, 2024. The report highlighted a strong performance despite the impact of a CrowdStrike-caused outage. The airline reported an operating revenue of $15.7 billion and a non-GAAP operating revenue of $14.6 billion, which accounted for the outage impact. The operating income stood at $1.4 billion with a non-GAAP pre-tax income of $1.3 billion. Delta achieved an operating margin of 8.9% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 9.4%. The earnings per share were reported at $1.97, with a non-GAAP figure of $1.50. The company generated an operating cash flow of $1.3 billion and a free cash flow of $95 million, reaching $2.7 billion year-to-date. Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, credited the strong results to the Delta team's exceptional work, leading to industry-leading operational and financial performance. The company expects a record December quarter revenue and a 30% growth in pre-tax profit over the previous year, potentially marking one of the most profitable fourth quarters in Delta's history. The September quarter results were adjusted for the CrowdStrike-caused outage, which had a direct revenue impact of approximately $380 million, primarily due to customer refunds and compensation. The incident also led to a non-fuel expense impact of $170 million and a $50 million reduction in fuel expense due to 7,000 flight cancellations over five days. Delta's adjusted debt to EBITDAR was 2.9x, and the company was upgraded to an investment-grade credit rating by Fitch. The airline continues to focus on debt reduction and strong Return on Invested Capital, exceeding the cost of capital by 5 points.