Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Delta Air Lines's P/E of 18.2 is above its own 5-year median of 9.5.

P/E above the industry

Delta Air Lines's P/E of 18.2 is above the Air Transportation, Scheduled, and Air Courier median of 17.7.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Delta Air Lines's EV/EBITDA of 8.7 is above its 5-year median of 6.3.

P/B above the industry

Delta Air Lines's price-to-book of 2.67 is above the Air Transportation, Scheduled, and Air Courier median of 1.77.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $91.32 is above our fair value estimate of $73.56.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 24.1% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 7.8% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 54.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 14.1% over the last twelve months; the Air Transportation, Scheduled, and Air Courier median is 11.0%.

Guidance issued

The latest outlook (FY 2026 Gross Leverage, Jul 10, 2026) was issued for the first time, so it neither adds nor takes away points.

Gross margin trend

This company does not report gross profit.

Return on equity over 15%

Return on equity was 15.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 28.3% over five years.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 13.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Delta Air Lines's return on equity of 15.9% is above the Air Transportation, Scheduled, and Air Courier median of 13.9%.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 4.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.0%.

Net margin below the industry

Delta Air Lines's net margin of 4.6% is below the Air Transportation, Scheduled, and Air Courier median of 4.6%.

High debt

Debt is 53.8% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 1824% five years ago to 53.8%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 66.1% of total debt.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.40 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 1.57; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Delta Air Lines paid dividends worth 0.9% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 0.9% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Delta Air Lines yields 0.9%.

Dividend was cut

The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 15.7% of net income.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.