Delta Air Lines (DAL) Return on Capital Employed (2010 - 2026)
Delta Air Lines posted quarterly Return on Capital Employed of 11.47% for Q1 2026, down 128.0% year-on-year from 40.96% in Q1 2025, and up 4.09% on a QoQ basis from 11.02% in Q4 2025.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) has 17 years of Return on Capital Employed data on file, last reported at 11.47% in Q1 2026.
- For the quarter ending Q1 2026, Return on Capital Employed fell 128.0% year-over-year to 11.47%; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 stood at 11.47% (down 128.0% YoY), and the FY2025 full-year result was 11.48%, down 105.0% from the prior year.
- Return on Capital Employed for Q1 2026 stood at 11.47%, up from 11.02% in the prior quarter.
- Across five years, Return on Capital Employed topped out at 13.99% in Q1 2024 and bottomed at 5.1% in Q1 2022.
- The 5-year median for Return on Capital Employed is 11.73% (2025), against an average of 10.6%.
- The widest annual swing landed in 2022, when Return on Capital Employed surged 3105 bps; it then tumbled 163 bps in 2025.
- A 5-year view of Return on Capital Employed shows it stood at 7.87% in 2022, then jumped by 49 bps to 11.74% in 2023, then climbed by 5 bps to 12.31% in 2024, then retreated by 11 bps to 11.02% in 2025, then increased by 4 bps to 11.47% in 2026.
- The last three Return on Capital Employed figures came in at 11.47% (Q1 2026), 11.02% (Q4 2025), and 11.96% (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROCE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | 53.78 Bn | 48.72 Bn | 15.19 Bn | 11.47% |
| 2 | Southwest Airlines | 21.39 Bn | 18.06 Bn | 6.21 Bn | 5.87% |
| 3 | Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V | 18.50 Bn | 17.47 Bn | -239.00 Mn | 7,568,381.22% |
| 4 | Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V | 8.98 Bn | 8.98 Bn | - | 3.51% |
| 5 | Alaska Air | 5.26 Bn | 3.49 Bn | 3.20 Bn | 1.66% |
| 6 | Skywest | 3.43 Bn | 2.80 Bn | 924.11 Mn | 10.50% |
| 7 | Copa Holdings | 3.33 Bn | 1.99 Bn | 713.71 Mn | 16.15% |
| 8 | Jetblue Airways | 2.03 Bn | -140.72 Mn | 1.87 Bn | -3.55% |
| 9 | Allegiant Travel | 1.67 Bn | 765.78 Mn | 651.87 Mn | 1.70% |
| 10 | Frontier Group Holdings | 1.39 Bn | 618.26 Mn | 724.00 Mn | -7.91% |
Historic Data
Download Data| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2026 | 11.47% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 11.02% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 11.96% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 11.73% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 12.75% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 12.31% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 11.87% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 13.36% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 13.99% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 11.74% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 12.37% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 11.46% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 9.41% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 7.87% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 5.13% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 6.68% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 5.10% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 3.65% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 1.44% |
| Jun 30, 2021 | -15.46% |
| Mar 31, 2021 | -25.95% |
| Dec 31, 2020 | -20.92% |
| Sep 30, 2020 | -18.25% |
| Jun 30, 2020 | -3.49% |
| Mar 31, 2020 | 10.98% |
| Dec 31, 2019 | 15.15% |
| Sep 30, 2019 | 14.79% |
| Jun 30, 2019 | 14.34% |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 13.69% |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 12.68% |
| Sep 30, 2018 | 12.66% |
| Jun 30, 2018 | 13.60% |
| Mar 31, 2018 | 16.00% |
| Dec 31, 2017 | 17.46% |
| Sep 30, 2017 | 16.17% |
| Jun 30, 2017 | 16.76% |
| Mar 31, 2017 | 17.80% |
| Dec 31, 2016 | 19.23% |
| Sep 30, 2016 | 21.16% |
| Jun 30, 2016 | 21.78% |
| Mar 31, 2016 | 22.61% |
| Dec 31, 2015 | 21.79% |
| Sep 30, 2015 | 14.81% |
| Jun 30, 2015 | 10.75% |
| Mar 31, 2015 | 8.17% |
| Dec 31, 2014 | 6.11% |
| Sep 30, 2014 | 10.03% |
| Jun 30, 2014 | 12.07% |
| Mar 31, 2014 | 10.23% |
| Dec 31, 2013 | 9.74% |
| Sep 30, 2013 | 9.61% |
| Jun 30, 2013 | 9.12% |
| Mar 31, 2013 | 6.56% |
| Dec 31, 2012 | 6.98% |
| Sep 30, 2012 | 8.14% |
| Jun 30, 2012 | 7.06% |
| Mar 31, 2012 | 8.11% |
| Dec 31, 2011 | 6.46% |
| Sep 30, 2011 | 4.91% |
| Jun 30, 2011 | 5.43% |
| Mar 31, 2011 | 6.58% |
| Dec 31, 2010 | 6.97% |
| Sep 30, 2010 | 5.93% |