Delta Air LinesDAL +3.97%79 Altman Z-Score is 1.52 as of Jun. 24, 2026, which is 18% above its 10-year median of 1.29. GuruFocus rates DAL with a GF Score™ of 79/100 and a GF Value™ of $54.11 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 10 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,000 Transportation companies, Delta Air Lines ranks worse than 68.6% on this metric.
The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.
Warning Sign:
Altman Z-score of 1.5 is in distress zone. This implies bankruptcy possibility in the next two years.
Delta Air Lines has a Altman Z-Score of 1.52, indicating it is in Distress Zones. This implies bankrupcy possibility in the next two years.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.
The historical rank and industry rank for Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:
DAL'
s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -0.34 Med: 1.29 Max: 1.85
Current: 1.5
During the past 13 years, Delta Air Lines's highest Altman Z-Score was 1.85. The lowest was -0.34. And the median was 1.29.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Altman Z-Score Explanation
X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.
X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.
X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.
X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.
X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.
Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.
Delta Air Lines Altman Z-Score Related Terms
Delta Air Lines Altman Z-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Airlines subindustry, Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Delta Air Lines Altman Z-Score vs Transportation Industry
For the Transportation industry and Industrials sector, Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score falls into.
Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.
Delta Air Lines's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:
Z
=
1.2
*
X1
+
1.4
*
X2
+
3.3
*
X3
+
0.6
*
X4
+
1.0
*
X5
=
1.2
*
-0.2255
+
1.4
*
0.1532
+
3.3
*
0.0746
+
0.6
*
0.9248
+
1.0
*
0.772
=
1.52
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) has a Altman Z-Score of 1.52 as of Jun. 24, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Delta Air Lines and its competitors. This is 18% above median its historical median of 1.29. According to the industry distribution chart, Delta Air Lines ranks #686 out of 1000 companies in the Transportation industry, placing it in the top 68.6%.
Is Delta Air Lines' Altman Z-Score too high?
Delta Air Lines' current Altman Z-Score of 1.52 is 18% above median its 10-year median of 1.29. The Transportation industry median Altman Z-Score is 2.28. Delta Air Lines' value of 1.52 is 33.3% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Delta Air Lines ranks #686 out of 1000 companies in the Transportation industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Delta Air Lines has a GF Score™ of 79/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Delta Air Lines' Altman Z-Score compare to UAL and LUV?
According to the Transportation industry distribution chart, Delta Air Lines ranks #686 out of 1000 companies for Altman Z-Score. This places Delta Air Lines in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 2.28. Delta Air Lines' value of 1.52 is 33.3% below this benchmark. While the company's 10-year median is 1.29 vs. the industry median of 2.28, Delta Air Lines has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Altman Z-Score for a Transportation company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Transportation companies is 2.28, based on 1,000 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Altman Z-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Altman Z-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Delta Air Lines's current Altman Z-Score of 1.52 is 33.3% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Altman Z-Score mean?
A high Altman Z-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Delta Air Lines and its competitors. For the Transportation industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 2.28 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Delta Air Lines's current Altman Z-Score is 1.52, which is 18% above median its own 10-year median of 1.29. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Delta Air Lines stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Delta Air Lines (DAL) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $54.11, compared to a current price of $90.17 — trading 66.6% above its estimated fair value. The current Altman Z-Score is 1.52, which is 18% above median its 10-year median of 1.29 and 33.3% below the Transportation industry median of 2.28. Delta Air Lines' overall GF Score™ is 79/100 with 10 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Altman Z-Score calculated?
Altman Z-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Delta Air Lines (DAL), the current Altman Z-Score is 1.52 as of Jun. 24, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Delta Air Lines (DAL) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Delta Air Lines stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $90.17 is trading 66.6% above its estimated GF Value™ of $54.11.
GuruFocus considers Delta Air Lines to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for DAL:
Altman Z-Score: 1.52 (18% above median its 10-year median of 1.29)
GF Value™: $54.11 vs. price of $90.17 (66.6% above fair value)
Industry Position: 33.3% below the Transportation median (#686 of 1000)
No single metric tells the full story. See the DAL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is one of the world's largest airlines, with a network of over 300 destinations in more than 50 countries. Delta operates a hub-and-spoke network, where it gathers and distributes passengers across the globe through its biggest hubs in Atlanta, New York, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Seattle, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Delta has historically earned most of its international revenue and profits from flying passengers over the Atlantic Ocean.
79GF Score
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