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Airline Stock Roundup: DAL & UAL's Q2 Earnings, CPA, LUV in Focus
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Key Takeaways
DAL topped Q2 EPS and revenue estimates, aided by strong passenger revenue and steady travel demand.
UAL beat Q2 EPS but missed on revenues; booking demand surged in early July amid easing uncertainties.
CPA and LTM posted year-over-year traffic gains, while LUV announced network expansion to St. Thomas.
On July 10, Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported better-than-expected revenues and earnings per share for the second quarter of 2025, driven by higher-than-expected passenger revenues. DAL reinstated its 2025 earnings per share guidance of $5.25-$6.25. It expects free cash flow of $3-$4 billion for the year.
United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missed the same. Latin American carrier LATAM Airlines (LTM - Free Report) reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK: a measure of air traffic) for June. Another Latin American carrier, Copa Holdings (CPA - Free Report) reported a 6.3% increase in revenue passenger miles for June, driven by high passenger volumes. Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) also grabbed headlines courtesy of an expansion update.
Recap of the Most Recent Important Stories
1. Delta reported second-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding $1.17 per share from non-recurring items) of $2.10 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.04. Earnings decreased 11% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues in the June-end quarter were $16.65 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.2 billion and decreasing marginally on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1% year over year to $15.5 billion.
Delta, currently carrying a Zack Rank #3 (Hold), expects third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share in the $1.25-$1.75 band. The adjusted operating margin is expected in the 9-11% band. With air-travel demand stabilizing, revenues on an adjusted basis are expected to either remain flat or increase up to 4% from the third quarter of 2024 level.
Delta was also in the news recently, courtesy of its preparations for the key tech event, CES 2026. That news was covered in detail in the previous write-up.
2. United Airlines' second-quarter 2025 earnings per share (excluding 90 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.87 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but declined 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Operating revenues of $15.2 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.4 billion but increased 1.7% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.8% of the top line) increased 1.1% year over year to $13.8 billion. UAL flights transported 46,186 passengers in the second quarter, up 4.1% year over year. UAL anticipates less geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty in the second half of 2025, with demand inflection beginning in early July with a 6-point acceleration in booking demand.
For third-quarter 2025, UAL anticipates adjusted EPS between $2.25 and $2.75. For 2025, UAL expects adjusted EPS between $9.00 and $11.00.
3. LATAM Airlines reported a 10.7% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers (ASK). The uptick was driven by a 13.9% increase in LATAM Airlines Brazil’s domestic capacity, partly owing to the temporary closure of Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre during 2024, as well as a 12.3% increase in the group’s international capacity. LTM’s consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), increased 10.2% year over year.
4. Copa Holdings reported robust traffic numbers for June 2025 on the back of upbeat air travel demand. Driven by high passenger volumes, revenue passenger miles (RPM: a measure of traffic) improved on a year-over-year basis in June. To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In June, available seat miles (ASM: a measure of capacity) increased 5.3% year over year. RPM rose 6.3% year over year. Since traffic outpaced capacity expansion, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) inched up to 87.5% from 86.6% in June 2025.
5. In a bid to expand its network, Southwest Airlines announced that it will operate flights to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2026. St. Thomas has become a popular vacation destination, with a record number of airline passengers in 2024. St. Thomas is the first of three new destinations for 2026 that the carrier expects to announce this summer. It will be the ninth island destination served by Southwest in the Atlantic Basin. This is the first time since 2021 that LUV is adding new destinations to its network.
Airline Stocks Performance
The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The NYSE ARCA Airline Index decreased by 1.1% to $59.63 as most airline stocks traded in the red over the past week. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has decreased by 17.1%.
What’s Next in the Airline Space?
Amid the tariff-induced uncertainties, second-quarter 2025 earnings reports of many airlines are expected in the coming days. For example, Southwest Airlines is scheduled to report quarterly results on July 24. While improved air travel demand is likely to boost the top line, the bottom line is expected to have been aided by reduced fuel costs.
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Airline Stock Roundup: DAL & UAL's Q2 Earnings, CPA, LUV in Focus
Key Takeaways
On July 10, Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported better-than-expected revenues and earnings per share for the second quarter of 2025, driven by higher-than-expected passenger revenues. DAL reinstated its 2025 earnings per share guidance of $5.25-$6.25. It expects free cash flow of $3-$4 billion for the year.
United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missed the same. Latin American carrier LATAM Airlines (LTM - Free Report) reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK: a measure of air traffic) for June. Another Latin American carrier, Copa Holdings (CPA - Free Report) reported a 6.3% increase in revenue passenger miles for June, driven by high passenger volumes. Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) also grabbed headlines courtesy of an expansion update.
Recap of the Most Recent Important Stories
1. Delta reported second-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding $1.17 per share from non-recurring items) of $2.10 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.04. Earnings decreased 11% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues in the June-end quarter were $16.65 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.2 billion and decreasing marginally on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1% year over year to $15.5 billion.
Delta, currently carrying a Zack Rank #3 (Hold), expects third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share in the $1.25-$1.75 band. The adjusted operating margin is expected in the 9-11% band. With air-travel demand stabilizing, revenues on an adjusted basis are expected to either remain flat or increase up to 4% from the third quarter of 2024 level.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Delta was also in the news recently, courtesy of its preparations for the key tech event, CES 2026. That news was covered in detail in the previous write-up.
2. United Airlines' second-quarter 2025 earnings per share (excluding 90 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.87 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but declined 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Operating revenues of $15.2 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.4 billion but increased 1.7% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.8% of the top line) increased 1.1% year over year to $13.8 billion. UAL flights transported 46,186 passengers in the second quarter, up 4.1% year over year. UAL anticipates less geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty in the second half of 2025, with demand inflection beginning in early July with a 6-point acceleration in booking demand.
For third-quarter 2025, UAL anticipates adjusted EPS between $2.25 and $2.75. For 2025, UAL expects adjusted EPS between $9.00 and $11.00.
3. LATAM Airlines reported a 10.7% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers (ASK). The uptick was driven by a 13.9% increase in LATAM Airlines Brazil’s domestic capacity, partly owing to the temporary closure of Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre during 2024, as well as a 12.3% increase in the group’s international capacity. LTM’s consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), increased 10.2% year over year.
4. Copa Holdings reported robust traffic numbers for June 2025 on the back of upbeat air travel demand. Driven by high passenger volumes, revenue passenger miles (RPM: a measure of traffic) improved on a year-over-year basis in June. To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In June, available seat miles (ASM: a measure of capacity) increased 5.3% year over year. RPM rose 6.3% year over year. Since traffic outpaced capacity expansion, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) inched up to 87.5% from 86.6% in June 2025.
5. In a bid to expand its network, Southwest Airlines announced that it will operate flights to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2026. St. Thomas has become a popular vacation destination, with a record number of airline passengers in 2024. St. Thomas is the first of three new destinations for 2026 that the carrier expects to announce this summer. It will be the ninth island destination served by Southwest in the Atlantic Basin. This is the first time since 2021 that LUV is adding new destinations to its network.
Airline Stocks Performance
The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months.
The NYSE ARCA Airline Index decreased by 1.1% to $59.63 as most airline stocks traded in the red over the past week. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has decreased by 17.1%.
What’s Next in the Airline Space?
Amid the tariff-induced uncertainties, second-quarter 2025 earnings reports of many airlines are expected in the coming days. For example, Southwest Airlines is scheduled to report quarterly results on July 24. While improved air travel demand is likely to boost the top line, the bottom line is expected to have been aided by reduced fuel costs.