- A lift in guidance by Delta Air Lines (DAL +4%) is giving airline sector investors a reason to be confident, with some peers following Delta higher in early trading.
- Delta says it expects Q1 revenue growth of about 7% vs. +5% to +6% prior view and EPS of $0.85 to $0.95 vs. $0.70 to $0.90 prior view and $0.80 consensus.
- Delta's strong read could alleviate some of the anxiety over a Q1 that is being considered a disruptive period for the U.S. airline with the government shutdown impacting some bookings, the Boeing 737 Max crash and more system outages than normal.
- Delta is due to report full Q1 results next week.
- On watch: Southwest Airlines (LUV -0.2%), American Airlines (AAL +0.9%), Hawaiian Holdings (HA -0.8%), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Mesa Air (MESA +1.7%), Spirit Airlines (SAVE -0.4%), United Continental (UAL +2.9%), JetBlue (JBLU), SkyWest (SKYW -0.6%).
- Related ETF: JETS.
- Previously: Delta announces March traffic, shares up 5% premarket (April 2)