Revenue is slipping slightly - although profitability is improving, notably helped by fuel savings and its successful business class.
Meanwhile, Free cash flow has risen sharply, from $2.8bn last year to $3.8bn this year, aided by reductions in both working-capital needs and the fleet investment programme.
The air transport sector is faring better in North America than in Europe following consolidation, which has the advantage of easing price pressure. That is what explains Delta's operating margin, twice that of Air France or Lufthansa.
At the same time last year, we noted that, over 15 years, from 2010 to 2025 - that is, throughout the period following the 2008 global financial crisis, including the pandemic - the company doubled its revenue and operating profit, while reducing the number of shares outstanding by a quarter.
While performance was not stratospheric - all the more so once adjusted for inflation - but in a sector that has long since turned into a graveyard of illusions - and shareholders - it nevertheless commanded a certain respect.
The economic underperformance remains glaring. Note, for example, that in the stockmarket, while Delta's share price has recently returned to the level it was at before the pandemic - almost exactly six years ago - once adjusted for inflation, what this represents is a significant erosion in value.
The same goes for the company's pre-tax profit; 2025 was bang in line with its level in 2019. If net income is higher, that is entirely thanks to a tax line that has been very substantially lightened.
At the same time, the number of shares outstanding has remained similar and capital returns to shareholders anaemic. There is little reason to be enthusiastic, especially with a valuation - expressed as a multiple of operating profit before investment, or EBITDA - that has recently bumped up against its 10-year highs.
