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Delta Air Lines (DAL) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $20.2 billion, up 21.1% on the year

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) reported revenue of $20.2 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 21.1% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $756 million, down 46.6% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.15. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 9 October 2026.

Revenue$20.2 billionup 21.1%
Net income$756 milliondown 46.6%
Diluted EPS$1.15
QuarterQ3 FY2026ended 30 September 2026

What management said

Guidance figures: 1 raised, 2 lowered, 9 new, 1 kept.

  • September revenue grew 16 percent adjusted: Adjusted operating revenue rose 16 percent to $17.6 billion on flat capacity. GAAP operating revenue was $20.2 billion, up 21 percent, including $2.6 billion of third-party refinery sales.
  • Full-year adjusted EPS guidance lowered: Full-year adjusted EPS guidance is $5.10 to $5.60, down from the $6.50 to $7.50 range given in July. Adjusted diluted EPS for the quarter was $1.72.
  • Adjusted fuel price up 60 percent: Adjusted fuel price was $3.61 per gallon, with a 13-cent refinery benefit. Adjusted fuel expense was $4.1 billion, up 62 percent, on gallons 1 percent higher.
Read the earnings call summary

The quarter, against the one before and a year earlier

LineQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025Change on the year
Revenue20,18619,75716,673+21.1%
Operating income1,4541,8641,684-13.7%
Operating margin7.2%9.4%10.1%
Pre-tax income1,0742,0091,777-39.6%
Income tax318405360-11.7%
Effective tax rate29.6%20.2%20.3%
Net income7561,6041,417-46.6%
Net margin3.7%8.1%8.5%
Diluted EPS$1.15$2.44$2.17-47.0%
$ million except per share.
Read moreFree cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow and capital returned

LineQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025Change on the year
Operating cash flow1,7131,5951,847-7.3%
Capital expendituren/an/a1,160n/a
Free cash flown/an/a687n/a
Free cash flow marginn/an/a4.1%
Cash from investing-1,303-1,512-1,035n/a
Cash from financing-1,301-545-370n/a
Depreciation and amortisation673656614+9.6%
Dividends paid141123122+15.6%
Dividend per share$0.21n/a$0.19+14.7%
Diluted shares, weighted659m658m654m+0.8%
Shares outstanding at period end658m658m653m+0.8%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet at quarter end

LineQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025Change on the year
Shareholders' equity22,51321,81518,822+19.6%
Debt13,95115,05215,979-12.7%
Operating lease liabilities5,0725,1635,356-5.3%
Other liabilities44,51244,29139,466+12.8%
Total liabilities and equity86,04886,32179,623+8.1%
Goodwill9,7539,7539,753+0.0%
Intangible assets5,9605,9625,968-0.1%
Cash and equivalents3,7874,6653,791-0.1%
Receivables4,3254,3073,612+19.7%
Other assets62,22361,63456,499+10.1%
Total assets86,04886,32179,623+8.1%

Questions

What was Delta Air Lines' revenue in Q3 FY2026?

Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported revenue of $20.2 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 21.1% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Delta Air Lines earn in Q3 FY2026?

Net income for Q3 FY2026 was $756 million, down 46.6% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.15.

When did Delta Air Lines report Q3 FY2026 results?

Delta Air Lines filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 with the SEC on 9 October 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

Q4 FY2021 *Q1 FY2022Q2 FY2022Q3 FY2022Q4 FY2022 *Q1 FY2023Q2 FY2023Q3 FY2023Q4 FY2023 *Q1 FY2024Q2 FY2024Q3 FY2024Q4 FY2024 *Q1 FY2025Q2 FY2025Q3 FY2025Q4 FY2025 *Q1 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2026
Revenue9,4699,34813,82413,97513,43512,75915,57815,48814,22313,74816,65815,67715,56014,04016,64816,67316,00315,85419,75720,186
Operating income263-7831,5191,4561,469-2772,4911,9841,3236142,2671,3971,7175692,1021,6841,4675011,8641,454
Operating margin3%-8%11%10%11%-2%16%13%9%4%14%9%11%4%13%10%9%3%9%7%
Pre-tax income-395-1,2001,0339621,119-5062,3171,5212,2761221,7731,5611,2023202,5741,7771,514-2142,0091,074
Tax raten/an/a29%28%26%n/a21%27%11%70%26%19%30%25%17%20%20%n/a20%30%
Net income-407-940735695828-3631,8271,1082,03737.01,3051,2728432402,1301,4171,218-2891,604756
Net margin-4%-10%5%5%6%-3%12%7%14%0%8%8%5%2%13%8%8%-2%8%4%
Diluted EPS-$0.62-$1.48$1.15$1.08$1.29-$0.57$2.84$1.72$3.16$0.06$2.01$1.97$1.29$0.37$3.27$2.17$1.86-$0.44$2.44$1.15
Operating cash flow5561,7712,5358691,1882,2352,6081,0765452,4082,4491,2741,8942,3781,8571,8472,2602,4321,5951,713
Capital expenditure1,2181,7669581,4422,2001,0001,4521,2691,6021,1931,3081,3281,3111,2241,2091,1609061,200n/an/a
Free cash flow-6625.01,577-573-1,0121,2351,156-193-1,0571,2151,141-54.05831,1546486871,3541,232n/an/a
Buybacks0.0n/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/a
Dividends paid0.00.00.00.00.00.00.064.064.064.064.097.096.099.097.0122122129123141
Shares outstanding640m641m641m641m641m643m643m643m643m645m645m645m646m653m653m653m653m657m658m658m
Filing10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q
Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.
Read more* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

Source

10-Q for the period ended 30 September 2026, filed 9 October 2026, accession 0000027904-26-000038: the filing on EDGAR. All of Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s filings: EDGAR company page.