By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) are down almost 5% after the company reported second quarter earnings.
DAL reported an EPS of $1.44 to miss on the $1.64 consensus. Adjusted revenue came in at $12.31 billion, slightly lower than the $12.33 billion estimate.
For this quarter, Delta said it expects to generate revenue of $12.85 billion at the midpoint of its guidance, higher than the consensus of $12.5 billion. Capacity is seen down 15-17% compared to the same period in 2019.
"For the September quarter, we expect an adjusted operating margin of 11 to 13 percent, supporting our outlook for meaningful full year profitability,” said Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive officer.
Cowen analyst Helane Becker, which rates DAL as Market Perform, commented said she was “not sure investors were expecting such a big jump in unit costs, which is likely to weigh on the shares in early trading.”
“The major difference between our estimate and actual results was in operating expenses related to passenger and contracted services, both of which were above our forecast. Fuel cost was also above our forecast, but salaries were below, and combined, were in line,” Becker added.