: Delta’s stock climbs as profit and load factor beats expectation but revenue comes up a bit shy

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL climbed 1.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the air carrier reported third-quarter profit that beat expectations but revenue that came up a bit shy. Net income rose to $1.11 billion, or $1.72 a share, from $695 million, or $1.08 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, rose to $2.03 from $1.51 to beat the FactSet consensus of $1.95. Revenue grew 10.8% to $15.49 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $14.55 billion, while the company recorded record revenue for the month of September. Domestic passenger revenue increased 6% while international revenue jumped 35%. Load factor improved to 88% from 87% to top expectations of 86.4%. For 2023, Delta cut its EPS guidance range to $6.00 to $6.25 from $6 to $7, but raised its sales growth outlook to approximately 20% from 17% to 20%. Delta’s stock has tumbled 25.0% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS has shed 24.5% and the S&P 500 index SPX has slipped 2.1%.

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