Delta Air Lines cut its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to $5.10 to $5.60 a share on Friday, citing a fuel bill it expects to rise by about $6 billion.
Delta Air Lines cut its annual profit forecast on Friday as higher fuel costs outweighed stronger fares and travel demand, Reuters reported. The carrier now expects adjusted earnings of $5.10 to $5.60 a share for 2026, down from the $6.50 to $7.50 range it gave in July.
Chief financial officer Erik Snell told reporters the revision was about fuel, citing higher crude and refined jet-fuel prices since the summer. Reuters said Delta expects its annual fuel bill to rise by roughly $6 billion from last year. Third-quarter fuel expense rose 62 percent year on year to $4.1 billion, more than $500 million above the July expectation.
The new midpoint of $5.35 is below the LSEG analyst average of $5.46, Reuters said. Delta forecast $4.5 billion in adjusted pre-tax profit for 2026. Shares were down 3 percent in premarket trading in the Reuters account. Bloomberg reported a similar cut and said high jet-fuel prices tied to the Middle East war were still hitting US airlines.
Delta's Trainer refinery is expected to generate about $700 million in profit and partly cushion the fuel hit, Reuters reported. Even with a projected refinery benefit of 40 cents a gallon, the airline expects fourth-quarter fuel cost of $4.25 a gallon, up from $3.61 in the third quarter.
The figures are company guidance, not audited full-year results. No labour or capacity announcement was included in these reports.
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- Erik Snell told reporters the forecast cut was all about fuel.