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Shares of Delta Air Lines (DAL) rose on Friday after the airline reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 revenue and adjusted earnings that came in ahead of analysts' estimates.
The carrier posted December-quarter profit of $843 million, or $1.29 per share, on revenue of $15.56 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected net income of $1.15 billion, or $1.78 per share, on revenue of $14.89 billion.
On an adjusted basis, earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85 topped analysts' estimates of $1.76.
Delta projects EPS growth of over 10% year-over-year to greater than $7.35 in fiscal 2025, "excluding the 45-cent impact of the CrowdStrike-caused outage in the September quarter." For the current quarter, it expects revenue to grow 7% to 9% and EPS of $0.70 to $1.00.
Shares rose 4.5% in premarket trading immediately following the report. They have risen roughly 50% over the past year, more than double the percentage gain of American Airlines (AAL) stock but trailing the roughly 135% surge in United Airlines (UAL) shares.
Premium Products Growing
"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," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said. "Our differentiated strategy and best-in-class operations, combined with demand strength and an increasingly constructive industry backdrop, position us to deliver the best financial year in Delta's 100-year history."
At its investor day in November, Delta said rising travel demand across generational lines made it confident that it will continue to see revenue growth for its premium seating products. The airline said premium revenue growth "outperformed main cabin by 6 points" in the fourth quarter.
Earlier this week, Delta and Uber Technologies (UBER) announced a new partnership that will allow members of the airline's frequent-flyer program to earn SkyMiles on Uber rides to and from the airport starting this spring. Uber is replacing rival Lyft (LYFT), which has been Delta's ride-sharing partner since 2017.
Also this week, Delta announced a collaboration with Alphabet's (GOOGL) YouTube that will allow SkyMiles members to watch and listen to ad-free content onboard its flights.
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