Delta Air Lines Delivers Earnings Beat as Recovery Continues

The airline industry hasn't come close to making a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic yet. International travel restrictions continue to weigh heavily on long-haul travel, while business-travel demand has just started to bounce back in a meaningful way.

That said, demand is finally improving at a steady pace, led by strong leisure-travel demand within the U.S. and to nearby international destinations (like Mexico and the Caribbean). This nascent recovery enabled Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) to record strong sequential improvement in its financial results last quarter, cruising past its own forecasts -- not to mention analysts' expectations.

Delta Air Lines posted adjusted revenue of $6.3 billion for the second quarter. While that was 49% lower than its Q2 2019 revenue, Delta still beat its April forecast of a 50% to 55% decline on that basis, as well as its updated June forecast for a 50% to 52% revenue drop. Moreover, adjusted revenue surged 76%, compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Source Fool.com