Originally Posted by
flyboycpa
I'm not a Delta guy, but I am a reformed accountant-turned Continental [ok...United] pilot. See my explanations in RED, above.
Not to pick nits here, but to say $10B+ in debt reduction is a bit misleading to the general public.
As you may (or may not) know, the Balance Sheet is a simple formula:
TOTAL ASSETS (STUFF YOU HAVE)=TOTAL LIABILITIES (STUFF YOU OWE) + TOTAL EQUITY (NET DIFFERENCE) +/- CURRENT PERIOD NET INCOME (or LOSS)
All that being said, I'm not bashing Delta, quite the opposite. They are performing like mad currently, and I hope you folks get everything you can [and the rising tide helps us, too]. That's also not to say that the Delta management couldn't use those monies shown above to reduce debt by $10B+, just that they aren't currently. I'm just clarifying a bit.
fb
They went from $17B in debt in 2009 to $7B in debt this year and estimate to be at $4B in debt by the end of 2017.
In addition to that, they're doing all the other things Enuf mentioned. Borrowing from the 10K
During 2014, we generated $4.9 billion in cash from operating activities, which we used, along with existing cash, to reduce the principal on our debt and capital lease obligations by $1.9 billion (FTB: $1.6B was debt reduction), fund capital expenditures of $2.2 billion and return $1.4 billion to shareholders, while maintaining a solid liquidity position.
FB, Enuf was just listing the other stuff and not meaning they total to $10B. The $10B has already happened, the rest happened in 2014 and this year alone. I yield back to you though, it is your expertise.