Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Santiago (Chile), Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,314 aircraft. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
What does it do?
Delta Air Lines flies people and cargo to hundreds of destinations across the US and around the world. Think of it as one of America's original mega-airlines — if you've ever flown through Atlanta's massive Hartsfield-Jackson airport, you've been in Delta's main hub. Beyond just selling plane tickets, Delta also owns a jet fuel refinery in Pennsylvania, which is unusual for an airline and helps it control one of its biggest costs. With hubs in New York, LA, Seattle, and Boston, Delta has a strong grip on both business travelers and leisure flyers.
Airlines are often seen as a barometer for the broader economy — when people and businesses are spending freely, airlines thrive, so Delta's health tells investors a lot about consumer confidence right now. Delta is also the most profitable US airline by net income, making it the benchmark the whole industry is measured against. After years of pandemic chaos, the airline sector's recovery story is maturing, and Delta is the clearest test case for whether that recovery has real staying power.
How does it make money?
Delta makes most of its $63.4 billion in revenue by selling seats on its planes, with premium cabins like Delta One and First Class being especially important — these tickets cost far more than economy and attract high-spending business travelers. It also earns significant revenue from its co-branded credit card deal with American Express, which brought in around $7 billion in 2024 alone, essentially acting like a financial services business bolted onto an airline. Cargo shipping, vacation packages, and its fuel refinery round out the rest. The company turned $5 billion in net profit on that revenue, a solid margin for an industry known for thin returns.
Why do investors care?
Investors are interested in Delta because it has consistently separated itself from budget rivals by focusing on premium travelers who pay more and complain less about price — that's a more resilient customer base when the economy wobbles. The American Express partnership is a near-guaranteed revenue stream that grows as more people sign up for Delta credit cards, regardless of how many flights actually take off. For growth, Delta is betting on international expansion, fleet upgrades with newer fuel-efficient planes, and continued demand for premium travel. The key thing that has to go right: fuel prices and labor costs need to stay manageable, and business travel demand needs to hold up.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on Delta Air Lines, Inc. — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.