The majority of the airlines around the United States have been recently going through a period of struggles. One notable exception is Delta Air Lines, which beat the estimates of Wall Street analysts in its most recent earnings report and saw its shares bounce back from an underwhelming run in 2023.
The shares of Delta have seen some slight ups and downs in recent weeks, but overall, the company’s stock is 22.08% up year-to-date and, at $ 49.38, is getting near to its pre-pandemic highs. According to airline CEO Ed Bastian, this is just the beginning as he predicts a further rise for the stock in the future.
Bastian shared his prediction in a recent interview with Jack Hough of Barron’s, saying that Delta stock will be “a great investment for many years to come.”
“Once we get that balance sheet, which still has some Covid debt attached to it, paid off, watch out,” Bastian told Hough. “You’re going to start to see our [price/earnings] multiple run. And I think it’ll be a great investment for many years to come.”
Delta reported $13.75 billion in revenue and earnings of $0.45 per share in its quarterly report in March, comfortably beating the expectations of analysts, who predicted $12.79 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $0.36. All other major airlines reported losses over the same period.