What's in the Offing for Delta Air Lines in Q4 Earnings?

Delta Air Lines DAL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Jan. 10, before market open.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.In the December quarter, the heavyweight airline is expected to have registered a 37.5% year-over-year increase with respect to the bottom line. DAL is expected to have registered a 4.3% year-over-year increase with respect to the top line.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, currently pegged at $1.76 per share, has been revised 0.6% upward in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2024 revenues is currently pegged at $14.83 billion.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchDAL has a decent earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the preceding four quarters and missing twice, the average beat being 7.5%.Given this backdrop, let us examine the factors that might have influenced Delta Air Lines’ performance in the to-be-reported quarter.We expect upbeat passenger volumes to have boosted DAL’s top-line performance in the December quarter. Notably, the majority of passenger revenues are likely to have come from domestic markets. Upbeat passenger volumes during the Thanksgiving holiday period are likely to have boosted the top-line performance in the to-be-reported quarter.Declining oil prices are expected to have aided the bottom line. DAL expects fuel price per gallon in the December quarter in the $2.2-$2.4 band. Our estimate is currently pegged at $2.37 per gallon.High labor costs are likely to have hurt the bottom line. DAL expects non-fuel unit cost or cost per available seat mile (CASM: adjusted) for the December quarter to increase 3% from fourth-quarter 2023 levels.In October 2023, DAL filed a lawsuit against CrowdStrike CRWD for the July cybersecurity outage that led to canceled flights and stranded passengers. Per DAL, the cybersecurity outage cost the company more than $500 million in canceled flights, refunds and passenger accommodations. In December, CRWD moved to dismiss DAL’s lawsuit citing terms in the contract. An update on the issue is also likely to be on DAL’s fourth-quarter conference call.What Our Model Says About DALOur proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for Delta Air Lines this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is the case here.You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Delta Air Lines has an Earnings ESP of +0.14% and a Zacks Rank #3.Highlights of DAL’s Third Quarter ResultsDelta reported third-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 47 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.50 per share, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Earnings decreased 26.11% on a year-over-year basis mainly due to high labor costs.Revenues of $15.68 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) were $14.59 billion, flat year over year.Another Airline Stock to ConsiderHere is an airline stock that investors may also consider, as our model shows that this too has the right combination of elements to beat estimates in fourth-quarter 2024 earnings.Southwest Airlines LUV has an Earnings ESP of +2.89% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.LUV is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 earnings on Jan. 30. Its fourth-quarter results are likely to be aided by high passenger revenues. Escalated labor costs are expected to have hurt bottom-line performance in the December quarter.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report CrowdStrike (CRWD): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks