Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian expressed satisfaction with his company’s financial results for the first quarter of 2023 despite missing estimates. For 10 days, the Atlanta, Georgia-based airline achieved the highest cash sales in its history as customer demand exceeded peak pre-pandemic levels.
“Our revenues and earnings EPS were all in line with the guidance that we presented at the start of the quarter,” Bastian remarked. “So given all the uncertainty and some of the volatility that we see and what seasonally is our weakest quarter of the year, we were quite pleased and thought it was a real solid performance.”
For Q1 of 2023, the major U.S. airline posted an adjusted net income of $163 million, falling short of the $184.31 million expected from consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg. This translated to earnings per share of $0.25 compared to an expected $0.29 per share. Revenue for the period was $11.84 billion, lower than an expected $11.99 billion.
Shares in the company rose by 4% in premarket trading on Thursday.