Wealthy people heading to the coast for business rather than leisure are set to keep U.S. flyer Delta Air Lines (DAL) soaring, according to a leading analyst. DAL stock was up nearly 1% in early trading.
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Strong Q3
Tom Fitzgerald of TD Cowen raised his price target on Delta stock from $66 to $72 and kept a Buy rating. He said the rise followed the company’s strong Q3 figures last week, which saw it report operating revenues of $16.7 billion, surpassing the expected $15.7 billion. It also revealed earnings per share of $1.71 beating the expected $1.52.
“We are encouraged by the near-term momentum in corporate travel and premium spend in tickets and credit card,” Fitzgerald said. “The company’s resilience in the face of 2025’s volatility should be reassuring for investors.”
On corporate travel, Fitzgerald said that despite volumes remaining in the high 70s as a percent of 2019 levels, there is a “potential for further recovery.”
Fitzgerald said that coastal gateways such as JFK airport in New York, Seattle, LAX in Los Angeles and Boston were seeing the largest improvements. This race to the coast is accompanied by briefcases rather than buckets and spades.
It is being driven by corporate travelers mainly from tech and banking companies.
Premium Gains
Going forward into 2026, Fitzgerald said that premium seats will drive most if not all growth. “New aircraft have higher premium skew while Delta also retrofitted existing aircraft this year to incorporate more Delta Comfort seating,” he said.
In addition, Delta should benefit as it grows into its transformational airport investments, simplifies its fleet, and leverages technology to drive efficiencies in its workforce and supplier base. Maintenance inflation should also begin to normalize longer-term.
For Q4, Delta is projecting revenue growth of 2% to 4% and expects adjusted EPS in the range of $1.60 to $1.90. For the full year, the company firmed up its guidance, now expecting EPS of $6, within the previous range of $5.25 to $6.25.
In April, Delta withdrew its full-year guidance, citing uncertainty around the impact of tariffs.
Those concerns seemed to have eased but given President Trump’s new Chinese tariff levy it clearly remains a risk for DAL, and other airlines, going forward.
Is DAL a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, DAL has a Strong Buy consensus based on 13 Buy ratings. Its highest price target is $90. DAL stock’s consensus price target is $73.83, implying a 27.51% upside.
