Delta Air Lines (DAL) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Delta Air Lines' Operating Margin was 7.20% in Q3 2026, down 2.90 percentage points from 10.10% a year earlier and down 2.23 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Delta Air Lines (DAL) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a trailing twelve-month basis, Delta Air Lines' Operating Margin was 7.36% through Sep 30, 2026, down 2.29 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 9.19%, down 0.54 percentage points from FY2024.
- Operating Margin shows a five-year change of +82.13 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In earlier years, Operating Margin was 9.73% in FY2024 (+0.21 pp), 9.51% in FY2023 (+2.27 pp), 7.24% in FY2022 (+0.93 pp) and 6.31% in FY2021 (+79.25 pp).
- Quarterly Operating Margin has moved between -8.38% (Q1 2022) and 15.99% (Q2 2023) over five years.
- Compared with a year earlier, Operating Margin has declined for four straight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -0.91 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Operating Margin over five years was Q1 2022 (a gain of 25.31 percentage points); the worst was Q3 2022 (a drop of 13.67 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, DAL's Operating Margin in the three quarters before Q3 2026 was 9.43% (Q2 2026), 3.16% (Q1 2026) and 9.17% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 178.63 Bn | 170.88 Bn | - | 40.89% |
| 2 | Csx | 94.16 Bn | 89.39 Bn | - | 39.08% |
| 3 | United Parcel Service | 83.47 Bn | 60.32 Bn | 22.04 Bn | 7.63% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 81.54 Bn | 81.26 Bn | 57.15 Mn | 35.25% |
| 5 | Fedex | 75.60 Bn | 41.80 Bn | 18.84 Bn | 6.20% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 73.66 Bn | 68.13 Bn | - | 32.61% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 60.67 Bn | 42.86 Bn | - | 7.20% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 39.17 Bn | -18.53 Bn | - | 8.09% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.72 Bn | 33.56 Bn | 1.56 Bn | 28.46% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 31.95 Bn | 16.22 Bn | - | 31.94% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 7.20% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 9.43% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 3.16% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 9.17% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 10.10% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 12.63% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 4.05% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 11.04% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 8.91% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 13.61% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 4.47% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 9.29% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 12.81% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 15.99% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | -2.17% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 10.94% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 10.42% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 10.99% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -8.38% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 2.78% |
API Access
Delta Air Lines Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=DAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "DAL", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=DAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();