Delta beats 3Q profit forecasts

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) on Thursday reported third-quarter profit of $1.26 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Atlanta-based company said it had profit of $1.69. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.70 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.65 per share.

The airline posted revenue of $10.48 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $10.59 billion.

Delta shares have declined 23 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen roughly 5 percent. The stock has declined 19 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DAL at http://www.zacks.com/ap/DAL

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Keywords: Delta Air Lines, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings