Delta Air Lines (DAL) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2010 - 2026)
Delta Air Lines' Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] was 10.05% in Q3 2026, down 1.91 percentage points from 11.96% a year earlier and down 0.61 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Delta Air Lines (DAL) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] at Delta Air Lines came in at 11.48%, down 1.05 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] shows a five-year change of +35.30 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In earlier years, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] was 12.53% in FY2024 (+0.67 pp), 11.86% in FY2023 (+3.98 pp), 7.88% in FY2022 (+4.21 pp) and 3.68% in FY2021 (+27.50 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure marks the lowest quarterly Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] since Q1 2023.
- Compared with a year earlier, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] has declined for four straight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -0.97 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] over five years was Q1 2022 (a gain of 31.05 percentage points); the worst was Q3 2026 (a drop of 1.91 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, DAL's Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] in the three quarters before Q3 2026 was 10.65% (Q2 2026), 11.47% (Q1 2026) and 11.02% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROCE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 177.13 Bn | 169.38 Bn | - | 15.93% |
| 2 | Csx | 95.25 Bn | 90.48 Bn | - | 13.38% |
| 3 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 79.66 Bn | 79.37 Bn | - | 6.99% |
| 4 | United Parcel Service | 76.08 Bn | 53.01 Bn | - | 11.61% |
| 5 | Norfolk Southern | 75.89 Bn | 70.35 Bn | - | 9.77% |
| 6 | Fedex | 71.92 Bn | 37.86 Bn | - | 7.01% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 52.14 Bn | 34.32 Bn | - | 10.05% |
| 8 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 39.40 Bn | 38.66 Bn | - | 28.03% |
| 9 | United Airlines Holdings | 33.14 Bn | -24.56 Bn | - | 8.46% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 28.01 Bn | 11.66 Bn | - | 18.67% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 10.05% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 10.65% |
| 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% |
API Access
Delta Air Lines Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] 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=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=DAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-capital-employed-[roce]", "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=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=DAL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();