Delta Air Lines is one of the largest airlines in the United States, and also one of four members of the SkyTeam airline alliance. The company serves 200 million passengers daily, providing transportation to 300 destinations in more than 50 countries (Delta, 2022). The organization is a leader in passenger service and innovates to improve the quality of air travel. Thanks to the merits mentioned above, the corporation has a good reputation among investors; one share of the company is worth $32.72 on the NYSE (CNBC, 2022). At the same time, the share price has steadily held at $32 per share, which indicates the stability of the company and the trust among shareholders.
First of all, investors’ confidence in the Delta is built on the company’s financial statements submitted to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is one mandatory report that is prepared on Form 10-Q that contains the official accounting documents of an organization’s quarterly earnings report. This document is of interest to traders because it significantly affects the stock pride. The information reflects the results of 3 months of work and the outlook for future action. According to Delta Air Lines’ Form 10-Q, the company’s equity in 2019 was $64,532 thousand, and in 2020 the number was $72,261 thousand (Delta, 2022). Such financial statements assure that Delta is an attractive investment option.
The second criterion for the company’s reliability is compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which implies compliance with specific quality and safety standards. The first code is the adoption of and adherence to a code of corporate conduct aimed at preventing abuses and promoting a set of principles of fair business conduct. Delta Air Lines has not been known to engage in financial fraud, use unethical advertising or steal competitors’ intellectual property. The second code is signing all reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The documents, signed by Delta’s chief executive, are posted on the company’s official website. The company initially had no problems with its financial statements, showing its full compliance with the rules of this code and the law as a whole (Momin, 2021). The law also includes points related to the protection of auditors from false information and blackmailing the latter by company’s employees. Delta files on time and makes its financial information publicly available for the transparency of its business.
An important indicator of an enterprise’s effectiveness and sustainability in the service market is its SWOT analysis. According to the analysis, the company dominates the airline market, since it has 750 aircraft in stock and is ranked 97th in the top 200 companies for 2021 (Momin, 2021). Although there are weaknesses that company is facing such as dependance on one market and several gaps in the marketing department, it has opportunity to expand corporation’s social media (Momin, 2021). There were threats to the organization such as COVID-19 pandemic, but it survived the aviation crisis and increased the revenue in 2020 (Momin, 2021). Therefore, the company can be considered a safe investment option.
The last of the tools for examining a company’s financial performance is parsing the enterprise according to Porter’s five forces. The first point is customers; the company serves more than 200 million people in a year, satisfying various passenger demands and reducing possible customer pressure (Delta, 2022). The second item is pressure from suppliers, which can create problems for the company. Delta solves the problem by establishing strong logistical links to obtain its needed goods and services. The third item is competitive pressure and their possible business strategies. Delta solves this problem by constantly communicating with opponents and maintaining business ethics with partners, thereby improving its statistical performance. The fourth point characterizes the strength of new competitors; Delta closes this issue by enhancing and creating new services for customers to stand out from the rest.
The last point includes product substitutes, as there are many airline services. Delta copes with this problem by innovating in service and flight quality to be unique in the market. Thanks to its competent management, from its employees to the board of directors, the company does not incur significant losses even in times of crisis and pandemics. The company’s stability is due to the high quality of services, proper financial decisions, and attention to investors. Such a strategy has helped Delta become a leader in the airline market.
To conclude, Delta Airlines is a safe and beneficial investment option opposed to Southwest Airlines because it is a major company in the market. The SWOT analysis showed that company has growth opportunities and strengths to achieve them. Crisis like pandemics are handled by the company regardless of its minor weaknesses. Porter’s Five Forces analysis also showed that organization effectively uses given resources and increases the revenue annually. Major factors such as corporation’s compliances with Sarbanes-Oxley Act and SEC are adhered properly, and thus Delta Airlines is advantageous for investment.
References
CNBC. (2022). Check out Delta Air Lines’s stock price (DAL) in real time. CNBC. Web.
Delta. (2022). About Delta: Delta Air Lines. Delta. Web.
Momin, A. (2021). Delta airlines SWOT analysis 2021: Dominating the industry. Pestleanalysis.com. Web.