Top Delta Air Lines Shareholders

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) is a global airline that provides transportation services for both passengers and cargo. The company's global route network has served millions of customers annually, taking them to hundreds of destinations worldwide. Delta Air Lines also operates an oil refinery business and other ancillary businesses.

Delta is among airlines that have seen an increase in passenger flight bookings after millions of people around the globe were vaccinated against COVID-19. The company said in March 2021 that it would stop bleeding cash due to the uptick in demand. Delta announced in April 2023 that its small- and medium-sized business bookings had fully recovered to 2019 levels. The company also issued a 5% base pay increase worldwide and opened a pilot training academy.

Delta Air Lines' 12-month trailing revenue was about $53.99 billion. Its 12-month trailing net income was $1.896 billion as of May 2023. The company's market cap was about $22.74 billion at that time.

Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders

The top individual shareholders of Delta Air Lines as of 2023 are Edward H. Bastian, Glen W. Hauenstein, and Peter W. Carter. These numbers reflect only direct ownership of shares. They don't include indirect ownership or shares that are available through stock options.

Edward H. Bastian

Edward H. Bastian owned 2,197,025 Delta Air Lines shares as of April 2023.

Bastian has led Delta's global expansion since becoming chief executive officer (CEO) in May 2016. Delta has been recognized as Fortune’s most admired airline worldwide during his tenure, and by FlightGlobal as the most on-time global airline.

Mr. Bastian joined the company in 1998 as vice president of finance and controller and was then promoted to senior vice president in 2000. He briefly left Delta in 2005 to join Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) but he returned six months later to become Delta's chief financial officer (CFO).

Glen W. Hauenstein

Glen W. Hauenstein owned a total of 1,058,502 Delta Air Lines shares as of April 2023.

Hauenstein has been president of Delta since May 2016. He manages a team that is responsible for Delta's network, revenue management, reservation sales, customer care, customer engagement, and loyalty strategies. He previously served as executive vice president and as chief revenue officer.

The airline was mainly a domestic network when Hauenstein joined Delta in 2005. He helped transform that network into one that's evenly split between international and domestic service.

Peter W. Carter

Peter W. Carter owned a total of 448,202 Delta Air Lines shares in April 2023.

Carter has served as Delta's executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary since July 2015. He's responsible for Delta's legal, compliance, and government affairs groups worldwide and he serves on the Delta Leadership Committee. He engages with various government stakeholders globally on competition policy, privacy, compliance, and other matters.

Carter was a partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP before joining Delta, and he clerked for Judge James B. Loken in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Top 3 Institutional Shareholders

The top three Delta institutional shareholders as of April 2023 were Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Inc., and Capital World Investors as of April 2023. Overall, institutional investors hold between 33% and 71% of Delta Air Lines' total shares outstanding at any given time.

Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group owned 71,496,733 shares of Delta Air Lines as of April 2023. representing 11.1% of total shares outstanding.

The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with about $6.2 trillion in global assets under management (AUM). The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is one of the company's largest ETFs with about $206 billion in AUM. DAL makes up less than 0.1% of VOO's holdings.

BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock owned 38,051,209 shares of Delta Air Lines, representing 5.9% of total shares outstanding, as of April 2023.

The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with approximately $8.68 trillion in AUM. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is among BlackRock's largest ETFs with approximately $261 billion in AUM. DAL makes up less than 0.1% of IVV's holdings.

Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors owned 26,563,427 shares of Delta Air Lines as of June 2023, representing 4.13% of total shares outstanding.

Capital World operates as a mutual fund company and is a subsidiary of Capital Research and Management Co., which is itself a subsidiary of The Capital Group of Companies Inc. The total value of its equity holdings is $519.9 billion.

The Bottom Line

Companies in various industries can thrive or deteriorate during varying economic times. Delta appears to have bounced back from pandemic-induced quarantines and their effect on travel. It also transports cargo and operates an oil refinery business. Taken together with its current estimated returns, there are certainly riskier investments out there. Speak with an advisor about all the pros and cons if you're considering buying into to DAL.