Delta Air Lines announced robust financial results for the second quarter of 2026, with an adjusted operating profit of $1.6 billion on revenues of $19.8 billion, a 19% increase year-over-year. The airline experienced a significant rise in costs, primarily due to fuel and refinery expenses, which climbed 23% to $17.9 billion, resulting in an adjusted operating margin of 9.4%. Despite these increased costs, CEO Ed Bastian stated that airfares are not expected to decrease in the near future, attributing this to strong demand and the recent collapse of Spirit Airlines.
The airline's adjusted fuel expense reached $4.4 billion in Q2, representing a 77% increase year-over-year, with an average price of $3.93 per gallon—the highest in Delta's history. This was compounded by a 5-cent per gallon impact from a temporary outage at its Monroe Energy refinery. Despite this, Delta reaffirmed its full-year guidance, projecting adjusted earnings per share of $6.50 to $7.50 and expecting earnings growth of 20% for 2026. For the September quarter, Delta anticipates earnings per share between $2.00 and $2.50, with an operating margin of 11% to 13%, and a projected all-in fuel price of approximately $3.15 per gallon.
Delta's revenue growth was broad-based, with total revenue up 14% to a record $17.7 billion for the June quarter on modest capacity growth. Loyalty and related revenue increased by 19%, and American Express remuneration grew 16% to $2.4 billion. Non-fuel unit costs saw a 6.8% increase, but the company expects this to improve modestly in the coming quarters. Delta also strengthened its balance sheet, reducing adjusted net debt by $709 million to $13.6 billion and announcing a 15% dividend increase commencing in the September quarter.
