Delta Air Lines will release its financial results for the first quarter of 2021 approximately on April 14. This is the first report among airlines. The airline sector is beginning to recover gradually, so the release should attract increased attention from investors. Wall Street expects to see a 53% y/y drop in revenue and EPS of (-$2.72).
The determining factor of the report should be the company's forecasts for the spring-summer period. The data available at the moment indicate the beginning of recovery processes in the industry. If in March last year, air traffic in the United States collapsed by 96% y/y, now it is lower by 50% (TSA data). Moreover, since January 2021, there has been an acceleration of the positive trend, which hints at further active growth in the foreseeable future.
Another important point is the number of tickets booked. American Airlines reported that this indicator is recovering at an extremely fast pace, thanks to which the company's revenue grew by 40% from February to March. About 30% of Delta's revenue was generated from international transportation, so investors will be watching the figures for this segment very closely.
It is important to understand that airline stocks began to recover from the date of the first vaccinations in November 2020, and since then DAL has managed to rise in price by 64%. Positive expectations, for the most part, are already included in current prices, so to continue the upward trend, the latest data should be really positive.