Delta: Aerial Views Of Aircraft At Boston Logan International Airport

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Delta tumbles after 2026 earnings guidance disappoints

The country’s largest airline forecast adjusted earnings of between $6.50 to $7.50 per share in 2026, while analysts were looking for $7.28.

Max Knoblauch

1/13/26 7:03AM

Delta Air Lines reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Tuesday morning, but it’s what management sees on the radar for the year ahead that has traders downbeat this morning.

The country’s largest airline said it expects adjusted earnings per share to come in between $6.50 to $7.50 in 2026, while Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet were looking for $7.28, sending shares sharply lower in premarket trading.

In 2025, Delta earned $5.82 per share, below the $6-per-share forecast it gave in October. That’s significantly under the company’s initial full-year forecast of more than $7.35 per share — guidance that was issued before tariffs became reality, when Delta believed 2025 had the potential to be its best fiscal year ever. The midpoint for 2026 guidance implies 20% growth for its bottom line.

This underwhelming guidance is also weighing on its peers, with United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Alaska Airlines selling off in tandem.

For the first quarter of 2026, Delta projects total revenue growth of between 5% and 7%, and an adjusted EPS range of between $0.50 and $0.90.

Delta posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.55 in its fourth quarter, ended in December, beating the $1.53 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Still, the figure fell below the bottom of Delta’s own projection range of between $1.60 and $1.90 per share.

Premium ticket offerings continued to outperform main cabin tickets, with sales rising 7% from last year compared to the 5% drop in main cabin sales, as premium becomes a bigger driver of Delta’s overall business.

Delta’s American Express card proved yet again to be worth more than its weight in plastic, pulling in $8.4 billion on the year, up 11% from 2024. Industry experts pin airline credit card profit margins at about 50%.

Along with its earnings, the carrier announced it reached an agreement to buy 30 Boeing 787s, with the option for 30 more, scheduled to begin deliveries by 2031.

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SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

Delta tumbles after 2026 earnings guidance disappoints

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