Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) is slated to report earnings on July 11. Analysts expect earnings to decline year-over-year, but what does the airline’s website traffic suggest? To answer this question, we will turn to TipRanks’ website traffic tool. A look at the image below shows that website traffic is up substantially on a year-over-year basis. In fact, visits increased by over 31% compared to Q2 2023, which suggests that travel demand is strong.
It’s also worth noting that DAL has beaten earnings estimates for four consecutive quarters, and the company’s website trends could potentially be foreshadowing another beat.
Valid Reasons for Analysts’ Conservative Projections
However, there are some valid reasons that lend support to analysts’ conservative projections, according to TipRanks’ Bulls Say, Bears Say tool. To begin with, Delta is facing cost pressures from higher fuel and maintenance expenses. Undoubtedly, if the firm can’t get these factors under control, then margins will be impacted.
In addition, contrary to what the website traffic numbers indicate, there may still be a degree of economic weakness that could impact revenue. In fact, its Latin American unit has already seen declines in Q1, which are expected to continue into Q2.
Nevertheless, there are still some analysts who believe that earnings are set to grow substantially going forward due to a resurgence of corporate and international travel.
Is Delta Stock a Buy or Sell?
Overall, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on DAL stock based on 15 Buys assigned in the past three months. After a 17% year-to-date rally, the average DAL price target of $61.59 per share implies 31.35% upside potential.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
