In releasing its latest financial results, Delta Air Lines (DAL) said it cannot reaffirm its 2025 outlook because of declining bookings and economic uncertainty caused by U.S. trade tariffs.
Delta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ed Bastian called U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies “the wrong approach” and said they are hurting air travel demand and bookings.
Consequently, Delta has forecast that its second-quarter revenue this year will decline up to 2% while Wall Street had been expecting growth of 1.9%.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based airline also forecast Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 U.S. to $2.30 U.S., which is below the $2.23 U.S. a share expected on Wall Street.
Delta said it could not reaffirm its full-year financial guidance due to ongoing uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs, although the carrier said it still expects to be profitable this year.
A month ago, Delta lowered its first-quarter earnings outlook due to weaker-than-expected corporate and leisure travel demand.
Delta had planned to expand its flying capacity by up to 4% in the second half of this year. But now the carrier’s capacity is likely to be flat, said management.
The latest financial results from Delta Air Lines kick-off Q1 earnings season.
For this year’s first three months, Delta reported EPS of $0.46 U.S., which beat the consensus forecast of analysts that called for $0.38 U.S.
Revenue for the January through March period totaled $12.98 billion U.S., which matched Wall Street’s forecast. Sales were up 2% from a year earlier.
The stock of Delta Air Lines has fallen 40% so far in 2025 and currently trades at $35.88 U.S. per share.