Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) earnings on July 9, 2026

DAL price around the earnings

89.00

Change: +2.0%

Start of the measured window End of the measured window

87.11 87.93 88.74 89.56 87.22

July 9, 2026

Price: green if it ends above the starting price; red if it ends below
Start of the measured window
End of the measured window
Market open
Starting price

Price series around the event

Prior thesis

Prior outlook: No statistical edge

Thesis published: 2026-07-09, 09:51 UTC

Mixed contexts — growth but sell-off risk

Analysts expect Delta to keep growing and it has a strong recent record of beating earnings, but the stock has surged 37% in 30 days, raising the risk of a post-earnings drop. Fuel cost concerns add to the caution.

Context analyzed before publication

Summary: Mixed contexts — growth but sell-off risk
Playbook: The stock has rallied sharply in the past month, pushing it above the average analyst price target. Historically, such extreme moves have sometimes been followed by pullbacks after earnings announcements.
Trend: Expert opinion volatile, no clear trend

Analysts

Drivers

Analysts Positive
Most analysts rate the stock a 'Strong Buy' with an average price target of $97, and recent upgrades from Susquehanna and Morgan Stanley support the positive view.

Evidence

Analyst consensus: Strong buy
Consensus average (1-5): 1.38
Analysts covering the stock: 25
Average price target: 97.48
Lowest price target: 48
Highest price target: 116
Upside to price target: 11.7%
Revenue growth: 12.9%
Forward EPS: 8.33
Trailing EPS: 6.75
Analyst moves in the last 60 days: 10

Strong buy: 6
Buy: 19
Hold: 0
Sell: 1
Strong sell: 0

Strong buy: 6
Buy: 19
Hold: 0
Sell: 1
Strong sell: 0

July 7, 2026 · Susquehanna: Maintains rating (Positive → Positive)
July 6, 2026 · Morgan Stanley: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)
July 6, 2026 · Raymond James: Downgrades rating (Strong Buy → Outperform)
July 2, 2026 · BMO Capital: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
July 2, 2026 · TD Cowen: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
July 2, 2026 · Goldman Sachs: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
July 1, 2026 · B of A Securities: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
June 30, 2026 · Wells Fargo: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)
June 26, 2026 · Citigroup: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
June 25, 2026 · Barclays: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)

News and sentiment

Drivers

News & sentiment Negative
News headlines warn about fuel cost headwinds and note that the stock is 'up 60% in three months', which some analysts see as a factor for a pessimistic scenario.

Evidence

Sentiment

Sentiment: Cautious
Mention volume: Low
Normalized volume: 33%

News

Sources (6)

Delta Stock Faces Fuel-Cost Headwinds Following US Military Strikes Against Iran — Benzinga
Delta Stock Is Up 60% In Three Months. That’s Exactly The Problem — Benzinga
Susquehanna Maintains Positive on Delta Air Lines, Raises Price Target to $108 — Benzinga
Morgan Stanley Maintains Overweight on Delta Air Lines, Raises Price Target to $115 — Benzinga
This M&T Bank Analyst Is No Longer Bullish; Here Are Top 5 Downgrades For Monday — Benzinga
Raymond James Downgrades Delta Air Lines to Outperform, Raises Price Target to $104 — Benzinga

Technicals

Drivers

Technical Negative
The stock price surged 14.58% in the last 30 days, an extreme rally that historically increases the chance of a decline after earnings are released.

Evidence

Average true range (ATR): 3.5%
Distance to 52-week high: -6.8%
14-day change (14d): +5.0%
30-day change (30d): +14.6%
30-day relative strength: +14.6%
Benchmark change (0d): +0.0%
Nearest support: 86.59
Nearest resistance: 87.42
Volume accumulation ratio (14d / 46d): 1.02

Trends

Evidence

Average earnings surprise: +6.3%

April 8, 2026: actual EPS 0.64 vs estimate 0.57 (surprise +11.3%)
January 13, 2026: actual EPS 1.55 vs estimate 1.55 (surprise +0.3%)
October 9, 2025: actual EPS 1.71 vs estimate 1.53 (surprise +11.9%)
July 10, 2025: actual EPS 2.1 vs estimate 2.06 (surprise +1.9%)

Expected move

Drivers

Past earnings Positive
Delta has beaten earnings estimates in all recent quarters, with an average surprise of +6.3%, indicating strong historical performance.

There is no implied-move data available for this event.

Reactions over its last 19 earnings

Median move: 4%
75th percentile move: 6%
90th percentile move: 9.6%
Up / down moves: 8 / 11
Average up move: +8.1%
Average down move: -3.3%

Monitoring and close

What Delta Air Lines, Inc. reported

There is no monitoring data available for this event.

Pre-market second reading after the results

There is no second reading available for this event.

How the stock reacted

Consolidated: +1.4%
Max move: +2.7%

No verdict: the outlook took no direction, so there is nothing to score as a hit or a miss.