What's Going On With Delta Air Lines (DAL) Shares?

Delta Air Lines Inc DAL shares were trading higher by 2.1% to $41.67 at Wednesday’s open, before pulling back. The stock was potentially moving higher in early trading in sympathy with peer United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter EPS results and guidance.

What To Know: Despite United narrowly missing revenue estimates, its earnings per share of 91 cents surpassed forecasts, driven by double-digit gains across premium cabin, cargo and loyalty revenue.

For Delta, United's performance points to positive industry-wide trends, particularly in high-margin segments where Delta is a market leader. United's growth in premium and business travel—up 9.2% and 7.4% respectively—indicates corporate demand recovery, a critical revenue stream for Delta's flagship transcontinental and international routes.

Additionally, United's improved cost efficiency, highlighted by a 3.4% decline in CASM, bodes well for Delta, which has aggressively managed expenses amid rising capacity.

Strong free cash flow and confident 2025 earnings guidance—$11.50–$13.50 per share in a stable economy—further suggest resilient travel demand. Investors are likely extrapolating similar tailwinds for Delta, whose financials and customer loyalty programs often outperform peers.

How To Buy DAL Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Delta Air Lines – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of Delta Air Lines, which is trading at $41.18 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 2.43 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, DAL has a 52-week high of $69.98 and a 52-week low of $34.74.