Delta Will Pay A Dividend, Buy Back Shares

Categories: Industry News | News

Delta Air Lines will start paying a quarterly dividend and buy back some of its shares — investor-friendly moves common in other industries but rare for airlines.

For years, the industry repelled long-term investors with high debt, losses, labor strife, bankruptcies, and roller-coaster stock prices. Now, airline bosses are eager to show that those days are over and their companies are good investments.

“Airlines used to be boom and bust companies, extremely risky. More airlines went out of business than earned a profit,” said S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim Corridore. “I think what Delta did today is they made a huge statement that, at least for them, it’s a different story.”

Delta said Wednesday that the dividend and stock buyback will return $1 billion to shareholders. The airline has posted a profit for three straight years, while trimming its debt by $5 billion.

CEO Richard Anderson said Delta’s financial plan “furthers our commitment to becoming the airline of choice for our employees, customers and shareholders.”

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