Originally Posted by
FriendlyPilot
Your comparison itself is "apples to oranges". You adjusted United's GAAP earnings, but not Delta's, instead choosing to just use operating earnings for Delta but GAAP for United. I used the same for both.
These are pre-tax GAAP earnings for both airlines.
United $498M - Delta $214 pre-tax LOSS.
From delta's own press release
https://ir.delta.com/news/news-detai...s/default.aspx
March Quarter 2026 GAAP Financial Results
Operating revenue of $15.9 billion
Operating income of $501 million with an operating margin of 3.2 percent
Pre-tax loss of $214 million with a pre-tax margin of (1.4) percent
Loss per share of ($0.44)
Operating cash flow of $2.4 billion
Friendly, you’re crashing and burning here. Your first comparison in your original post was UA’s GAAP pre-tax earnings of $900M to DL’s non-GAAP of $532M. Even a moron like me can see that.
Delta made more with better margins. Only non-GAAP matter when comparing.