Summary

Brief Business Overview

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) is a global airline based in the United States. The company and its alliance partners serve over 130 countries and territories, 800 destinations around the world. As of 2022, the company offers more than 4,000 daily flights to more than 275 destinations on six continents. Delta is one of the world's oldest air lines in operation. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded March 2, 1925 and commenced operation in 1929. The global network of the company is supported by a fleet of approximately 1,250 aircraft as of December 31, 2022.

The company provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers, as well as aircraft charters, and management and programs. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, 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, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon.

As of June 2023, 52-weeks' price range of the company stock is $40.34 to $27.20. The company has a trailing P/E of 13.23 times, price to sales ratio (ttm) of 0.47 times, profit margin is 3.51%, operating margin (ttm) is 9.37%, return on assets (ttm) is 4.30%, return on equity (ttm) is 40.97%. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of the company is $3.05 for the trailing twelve months period, debt to equity ratio (mrq) is 489.78 times.

Company History

Delta was founded on March 2, 1925, as Huff Daland Dusters—the world's first aerial crop-dusting company. The crop-dusting operation has formed the roots for Delta, begins in Macon, Ga. During 1925, Huff Daland Dusters' 18-planes fleet was the largest privately-owned fleet in the world. Operations ranged from south to Florida, north to Arkansas, and west to California and Mexico. In 1927, Huff Daland extended its dusting services to Peru. In 1928, C.E. Woolman led a movement to buy Huff Daland Dusters. Renamed “Delta Air Service” for the Mississippi River Delta region it served. In 1929, Delta operated its first passenger flights over route stretching from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana.

The company was renamed to Delta Air Corporation in 1930. Delta has suspended all passengers operations in 1930 when it lost the airmail contract. The company regained the contract in 1934 and began doing business as Delta Air Lines over Mail Route 24, stretching from Fort Worth, Texas, to Charleston, South Carolina. In 1941, Delta headquarters moves from Monroe to Atlanta. Atlanta is now the center of Delta's new 16-city route system. The name of the company was changed to Delta Air Lines in 1945. Delta started its first international routes to Caribbean and Caracas in 1953 after acquisition of Chicago and Southern Air Lines. In 1959, Delta is first airline to launch Douglas DC-8 jet service. The red, white, and blue triangle "widget" becomes Delta's logo, resembling the swept-wing appearance of a jet.

Delta activates the electronic SABRE system for "instant" reservations in 1962. In 1964, the company starts Deltamatic reservation system with IBM 7074 computers. In 1966, Delta's founder C.E. Woolman dies and Charles H. Dolson replaces him. The company ceases its crop-dusting operations in the same year. In 1972, Northeast Airlines merges with Delta. Delta becomes a major carrier in Boston and New York, with direct routes from NYC and New England to Florida, Canada, Bahamas and Bermuda. By 1974, Delta ranked first for 17 consecutive years as #1 major U.S. airline for customer service also Delta has fewest passenger complaints as ranked by the Department of Transportation. In 1987, the company acquired Western Airlines. In 1997, Delta was the first airline to board more than 100 million passengers in a calendar year. Also that year, Delta began an expansion of its international routes into Latin America. In 2003, the company launched Song, a low-cost carrier.

On September 14, 2005, the company filed for bankruptcy, citing rising fuel costs. It emerged from bankruptcy in April 2007 after fending off a hostile takeover from US Airways and its shares were re-listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2008, Northwest Airlines merges with Delta, creating global airline with major passenger and cargo operations in every region of the world. Delta in 2009 expands its transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM. Becomes only U.S. airline (since Pan Am) to serve six continents with introduction of nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia. 

The company becomes the first airline with mobile baggage tracking, via Fly Delta app, in 2011. Delta acquires  49% stake in U.K. airline Virgin Atlantic, a partnership that increases Delta's access to the important London and trans-Atlantic markets. The company celebrates 85 years of passenger service in 2014, also named one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies. In 2015, the company purchases a 3.5% stake in China Eastern, expanding the airline’s presence and customer choice in Asia’s largest market. Delta launches joint venture partnership with Korean Air with hub in Seoul in 2018.