---
title: "Delta Q2 2026: +14% revenue, −26% EPS — the fuel quarter, in filed numbers"
description: "Delta's June-quarter 8-K, read the day it was filed: record $17.7B adjusted revenue up 13.9% on 1% capacity, TRASM +12.4% — colliding with $4.1B of fuel at $3.66/gal (+67%). Adjusted EPS fell 26% while the affirmed full-year guide still promises +20% earnings growth, which quietly demands a strong second half. Every number traces to accession 0000027904-26-000029."
canonical: https://evidinvest.com/blog/dal-q2-2026-earnings-fuel-quarter-filed-numbers-aether-sec-analysis-2026-07-10
date: "2026-07-10"
last_updated: "2026-07-10"
author: "EvidInvest Team"
publisher: "EBD Sweden AB (EvidInvest)"
tags: ["DAL", "Delta Air Lines", "earnings", "Q2 2026", "airlines", "fuel costs", "TRASM", "SEC filings", "Aether"]
---

# Delta Q2 2026: +14% revenue, −26% EPS — the fuel quarter, in filed numbers

- Published: 2026-07-10
- Author: EvidInvest Team, EvidInvest (published by EBD Sweden AB)
- Canonical URL: https://evidinvest.com/blog/dal-q2-2026-earnings-fuel-quarter-filed-numbers-aether-sec-analysis-2026-07-10
- Research, not investment advice.

> Delta's June-quarter 8-K, read the day it was filed: record $17.7B adjusted revenue up 13.9% on 1% capacity, TRASM +12.4% — colliding with $4.1B of fuel at $3.66/gal (+67%). Adjusted EPS fell 26% while the affirmed full-year guide still promises +20% earnings growth, which quietly demands a strong second half. Every number traces to accession 0000027904-26-000029.

*Published the day of the filing. Every figure below is traceable to Delta's
[June-quarter 2026 earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/27904/000002790426000029/deltaairlinesannouncesjune.htm)
(exhibit to Form 8-K, accession `0000027904-26-000029`, filed July 10, 2026)
unless otherwise cited. Not investment advice.*

Delta's June quarter is two true stories at once. The revenue machine had a
record quarter: adjusted revenue of **$17.7 billion, up 13.9%**, on barely
**1% more capacity** — meaning unit revenue (TRASM) grew **12.4%**. And the
income statement got hit by history: fuel expense of **$4.1 billion, up
$1.65 billion (+67%)**, at **$3.66 a gallon vs $2.21** a year ago. The
company's own framing, from CEO Ed Bastian:

> "We delivered $1.4 billion in pre-tax profit **while absorbing the highest
> quarterly fuel expense in our history**…"

Net of the collision: adjusted operating margin **8.8% vs 13.3%** last year
(−4.5 points), adjusted **EPS $1.56, down 26%**. A record top line and a
quarter that *earned a quarter less* — both filed facts.

## The pricing power is real — and it's the quarter's genuine news

Growing revenue 14% on 1% capacity is close to pure price/mix, and the
release shows it's broad, not premium-only:

- **Main cabin unit revenue up double-digits** — "the second consecutive
  quarter of positive main cabin growth." The cheap seats are carrying
  pricing again, not just the front of the plane.
- Domestic unit revenue **+12%**; international **+8%**, led by Latin America.
- Premium revenue **+17%**; loyalty **+19%**, with American Express
  remuneration of **$2.4 billion (+16%)** — "the seventh consecutive quarter
  of double-digit year-over-year growth in cardholder spend."
- Cargo **+39%**, MRO **+32%**. Diversified streams now **61% of revenue**
  (+2 points).

Do the dollar math (ours, not theirs): revenue added ~**$2.16B** year over
year; fuel added ~**$1.65B** of cost. Pricing more than covered the fuel
bill in dollars — margins still compressed because non-fuel costs grew too
and the denominator got bigger. That's what "absorbing" a fuel shock looks
like when it half-works.

## A GAAP footnote worth knowing

GAAP revenue is **$19.8B** vs adjusted **$17.7B** — the ~$2.1B gap is
third-party refinery sales, which also flatter GAAP operating margin (9.4%)
relative to adjusted (8.8%) this quarter. When headlines quote Delta's
"margin," check which one.

## Balance sheet: the boring good news

Total debt and finance leases down **$1.1B (−7%) to $14.0B**, and the
dividend goes up **15%** starting in the September quarter. Capex ran
**$1.46B (+21%)**; operating cash flow **$1.6B (−14%)**.

## Guidance: affirmed — and it leans hard on H2

- **September quarter**: "mid-teens revenue growth and double-digit margin,"
  with unit revenue growth "improving sequentially" (CCO Joe Esposito, who
  also calls the setup "constructive" into December).
- **Full year, affirmed**: adjusted EPS **$6.50–$7.50** and free cash flow
  **$3–4B** — Bastian: "grow earnings by 20 percent, overcoming a
  multi-billion dollar fuel headwind."

Here's the arithmetic tension (same pattern we flagged in
[PepsiCo's Q2 the day before](https://evidinvest.com/blog/pep-q2-2026-earnings-gaap-vs-core-aether-sec-analysis-2026-07-09)):
a −26% EPS quarter sits inside a +20% full-year growth guide. That only
closes if the September and December quarters swing strongly positive —
which is exactly what the mid-teens revenue guide on modest capacity
implies management expects. The filed numbers to watch next quarter:
TRASM (does +12% hold as comps stiffen), the fuel line (does $3.66/gal
anniversary), and main-cabin unit revenue (the demand-breadth signal).

Delta's live valuation, financials and peer comparisons are on the
[Delta valuation page](https://evidinvest.com/valuation/DAL) — and Tuesday's
[pre-earnings scorecard](https://evidinvest.com/blog/dal-delta-q2-earnings-preview-filed-guidance-aether-sec-analysis-2026-07-08)
shows what the filing promised before it printed. Stress-test the affirmed
guide yourself in the [DCF calculator](https://evidinvest.com/tools/dcf-calculator).

## Sources

- Delta June-quarter 2026 earnings release, 8-K exhibit, accession
  `0000027904-26-000029`, filed 2026-07-10 —
  [sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/27904/000002790426000029/deltaairlinesannouncesjune.htm)
- Delta Q2 2026 Form 10-Q, accession `0000027904-26-000031`, filed 2026-07-10
- Baseline: Delta June-quarter 2025 release, accession `0001683168-25-005002`
  ("record revenue on a 13 percent operating margin… $1.8 billion in pre-tax
  profit") — [sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/27904/000168316825005002/delta_ex9901.htm)

*Research assembled with [Aether](https://aether.evidinvest.com), EvidInvest's
citation-first SEC search engine. Every quote links to the primary source; if
a number isn't in a filing, we don't print it.*

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