Delta Air Lines management check
DAL · Industrials · Passenger Airlines · CEO Edward H. Bastian
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $177, against $88 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.95 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.4% of net income$19.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $5.0bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 7.6 years of payThe CEO holds 1,569,958 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 7.6 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $38.5m in the last six months and none bought.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.9% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.5% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
10 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Edward H. Bastian. 10 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 97 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 85 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | 59 | 55 | |
| Dilution | 39 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 75 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Passenger Airlines, by management score. Delta Air Lines is 8th of 81 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 24, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Edward H. Bastian | $19.2m | $105.5m | $7.8m | $177 | $88 | $5.0bn |
| 2024 | Edward H. Bastian | $27.1m | $56.4m | $8.9m | $152 | $83 | $3.5bn |
| 2023 | Edward H. Bastian | $34.2m | $39.8m | $12.3m | $101 | $83 | $4.6bn |
| 2022 | Edward H. Bastian | $9.6m | $7.6m | $5.1m | $82 | $64 | $1.3bn |
| 2021 | Edward H. Bastian | $12.4m | $11.6m | $6.1m | $97 | $98 | $280.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Pre-Tax Income. Its other key measures: Cumulative Free Cash Flow, Total Revenue Per Available Seat Mile.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Edward H Bastian (Chief Executive Officer) held 1,569,958 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 4, 2026, roughly $145.7m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $38.5m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldEdward H BastianChief Executive Officer$19.2mAug 4, 2026
- SoldAlain BellemareEVP & Pres. - International$6.8mAug 4, 2026
- SoldSteven M SearEVP - Global Sales & Distrib$3.8mAug 5, 2026
- SoldPeter W CarterPresident$3.7mAug 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 25, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jan 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 20, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Apr 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 2, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 15, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 22, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $889.0m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 6% of net income, and $1.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $29.9bn | $50.6bn | $58.0bn | $61.6bn | $63.4bn |
| Net income | $280.0m | $1.3bn | $4.6bn | $3.5bn | $5.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $149.0m | $150.0m | $180.0m | $236.0m | $313.0m |
| Buybacks | $0 | $0 | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $0 | $0 | $128.0m | $321.0m | $440.0m |
| Diluted shares | 641m | 641m | 643m | 648m | 654m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.