Delta Air Lines topped profit and revenue expectations in the fourth quarter on strong demand during the crucial holiday period.
Delta said Friday that travel demand picked up throughout the quarter. During November and December, the airline said that it saw four of the top 10 revenue days in its history and double-digit growth in cash bookings driven by both leisure and corporate travelers.
“As we move into 2025, we expect strong demand for travel to continue, with consumers increasingly seeking the premium products and experiences that Delta provides,” CEO Ed Bastian said in a prepared statement on Friday.
The company earned $843 million, or $1.29 per share. Per share earnings removing one-time expenses were $1.85, easily beating Wall Street projections of $1.76, according to industry analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.
A year earlier, Delta earned $2.04 billion, or $3.16 per share.
Delta hit the top end of its own forecast for the three months ended Dec. 3, having said that it would earn between $1.60 and $1.85 per share.
Revenue rose to $15.56 billion, from $14.22 billion, last year, also topping Wall Street estimates of $14.99 billion.
Total revenue per available seat mile climbed to $21.60 from $20.78 a year ago.
Delta also benefited from a drop in fuel costs during the quarter. Fuel expense fell to $2.41 billion from $2.94 billion. The average fuel price per gallon declined to $2.36 from $3.01.
Shares of Delta jumped more than 6% before the opening bell on Friday after saying that it now anticipates full-year earnings will be more than $7.35 per share, and between 70 cents and $1 in the first quarter.
Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting full-year earnings of $6.11 per share and first-quarter earnings of 77 cents per share.
Delta's strong quarter also pushed the shares of other airlines higher in premarket trading, with American Airlines up more than 4%, JetBlue rising about 2% and United Airlines climbing more than 5%.
Among U.S. carriers, Delta scored the highest for on-time arrivals last year, aviation-data provider Cirium reported last week. That was despite a computer outage that caused thousands of flight cancellations in July.
Delta, based in Atlanta, achieved an on-time rate of more than 83%, good enough to rank third worldwide behind Aeromexico and Saudia, respectively. The next-best U.S. carriers were United Airlines, at nearly 81%, and Alaska Airlines, at just over 79%, Cirium said.
