10:30 AM EDT, 10/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) issued an upbeat fourth-quarter earnings outlook on Thursday amid improving sales trends, while the air carrier's results in the prior-three month period topped market estimates.

The company expects adjusted earnings to be in a range of $1.60 to $1.90 per share for the ongoing quarter. The midpoint of the guidance is above the current consensus on FactSet of $1.65. The stock jumped 6.6% in Thursday trade.

Revenue is projected to rise by 2% to 4% year over year in the fourth quarter, "with healthy sequential unit revenue improvement driven by continued domestic strength and meaningful improvement in transatlantic unit revenue," President Glen Hauenstein said in a statement. The Street is looking for $14.71 billion in sales.

"Over the last six weeks, sales trends have accelerated across all geographies and in every advance purchase window, positioning Delta to finish the year with momentum," Hauenstein added.

For full-year 2025, Delta now anticipates adjusted EPS of about $6, in the upper half of the forecast it provided in July. At the time, the company expected adjusted EPS between $5.25 to $6.25. The average analyst estimate on FactSet is for $5.80.

"Looking to 2026, Delta is well positioned to deliver top-line growth, margin expansion and earnings improvement consistent with our long-term financial framework," according to Chief Executive Ed Bastian.

For the September quarter, the airline's adjusted EPS climbed 14% to $1.71, surpassing the market's view for $1.53. Adjusted operating revenue improved 4.1% to $15.2 billion, beating the Street's estimate of $15.08 billion, buoyed by a 9% jump in the premium segment. Delta also benefited from "improving domestic fundamentals," Hauenstein said.

Adjusted total revenue per available seat mile edged 0.3% higher year over year. Overall passenger revenue increased 3%, while cargo climbed by 19%.

Non-fuel cost per available seat mile nudged 0.3% higher on a yearly basis, bringing the year-to-date unit cost growth to less than 2%, which is consistent with the carrier's low-single-digit outlook at the start of the year, Chief Financial Officer Dan Janki said.

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