Delta Air Lines: 3 Reasons This Dip Is Too Good to Miss

Core Viewpoint - Delta Air Lines reported disappointing third-quarter 2024 earnings, missing both earnings-per-share (EPS) and revenue estimates, which has raised concerns about a troubling trend as it marks the second consecutive quarter of misses [1][3] Financial Performance - EPS was reported at $1.50, missing estimates by 2 cents, while revenue fell short by nearly $700 million [1] - The cost per average seat mile (CASM) increased by 2% year-over-year, while total operating revenue per seat mile (TRASM) decreased by 3.6% year-over-year [1] - The company experienced a $380 million revenue shortfall due to a one-time software outage, which also impacted EPS by 45 cents [3] Market Reaction - Following the earnings report, Delta's stock initially dropped to a premarket low of $47.46 but later recovered to close with a modest loss of 1.35% [2] - The earnings miss also negatively affected shares of Delta's peers, including United Airlines and American Airlines [1] Future Outlook - Delta expects record profits in the fourth quarter, with a forecasted operating margin improvement from 11% to 13% and pre-tax profit growth of 30% year-over-year [6] - Corporate travel sales rose by 7% year-over-year, with expectations for increased corporate travel spending in 2025 [4] - The company announced plans for over 700 weekly flights to 33 destinations in its summer Transatlantic 2025 schedule [6] Stock Forecast - The average price target for Delta's stock is $65.40, indicating a potential upside of 26.84% [5] - Analysts have set a high forecast of $85.00 and a low forecast of $59.00 for the stock [6][9] Technical Analysis - Delta's stock is forming a daily symmetrical triangle pattern, with key resistance at $52.00 and support levels at $49.97 and various Fibonacci pullback levels [7][8]