For Delta, Trans-Pacific Revenue Climbs While Domestic Falls

Delta Air Lines said that in the second quarter, revenue grew, premium revenue grew and international revenue grew, especially trans-Pacific revenue, enabling the carrier to restore its practice of making a full-year forecast.

The forecast was for earnings this year of between $5.25 and $6.25 a share, which is down from the $7.35 per share it forecast in January. Following the April quarter, Delta and its peers declined to issue forecasts, given all the questions engendered by an unsteady economy, tariffs and traffic declines in sectors, including domestic, Canada and some Europe to U.S. markets.

For early traders on Wall Street, the restoration of a forecast, even if it has declined, was a positive sign, with shares up 10% in pre-market trading.

“Delta Highlights Its Durability With Better-Than-Expected Guidance For 3Q/FY25,” was the headline in early comments issued by Cowen analyst Tim Fitzgerald.

“The company has set a high bar for peers given investor concern on 2H pricing,” Fitzgerald wrote on Thursday morning before the market opened. “Delta’s guidance is encouraging for other full-service carriers, but we would hesitate on overextrapolating the guidance for airlines without premium/diverse revenues.”

For the second quarter, Delta revenue was $15.51 billion, up about 1% from the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $2.13 billion or $3.27 a share, up from $1.3 billion or $2,01 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Delta results, the first from the airline industry for the second quarter, continued a trend of increased revenue from premium segments along with diminished revenue from domestic coach.

In its earnings release, Delta said “High margin revenue streams contributed 59% of total revenue, underpinning Delta’s differentiated business model. Premium revenue continued to outpace main cabin, growing 5% percent on a year-over-year basis.” American Express remuneration was $2 billion, up 10% year-over-year.

International revenue grew 2%, with Pacific revenue up 11% and transatlantic revenue up 2%, exceeding the record 2024 levels. The carrier launched service between its Salt Lake City hub and Seoul-Incheon, hub for Delta partner Korean Air, opening a new gateway between the U.S. and Asia

But domestic revenue fell 1% to $9.3 billion.

“Through the quarter, demand trends stabilized at levels that are flat to last year and we continued to see resilience in our diverse, high-margin revenue streams,” said Delta President Glen Hauenstein in a prepared statement.

Looking ahead, Hauenstein said, “For the September quarter, we expect total revenue to be flat to up 4% compared to the prior year, with unit revenue trends expected to improve through the second half of the year as we continue to adjust capacity and the industry further rationalizes supply.”