In a statement to investors, Delta Air Lines said overall air travel demand was climbing and there could be a further boost in 2023 business travel returns to pre-pandemic levels.
"2022 is proving to be a pivotal year as we rebuild the world's best-performing airline. Thanks to the exceptional work of our people, we navigated challenges while continuing to strengthen our competitive advantages, enhancing the power of our trusted consumer brand," said chief executive Ed Bastian.
"Delta is delivering on key operational and commercial milestones and is ahead of its financial plan for the first year of the airline's three-year plan, established last December," the carrier told investors on December 14.
It was a view that industry analysts largely endorsed. Cowen described the outlook as "encouraging", though it added that the carrier could have been optimistic.
"We believe these shares can sell for $54/share, or ~9.9x our 2023 EPS estimates. We think the targets set by management are conservative and achievable barring a major recession", Cowen analysts noted.
"Our own holiday wish list was satiated" JP Morgan analysts said of the Delta outlook, though acknowledging the marker response was "underwhelming".
"Owing to last year’s Omicron variant, Delta expects improving yr/yr revenue momentum for the next several months (Dec<Jan<Feb<Mar), a trend we expect others to soon echo", the bank said, noting that that carrier announced an above-expectation 2023 earnings guide of $5.00 to $6.00, which it said was "comfortably" above consensus.