Filing Flows

Filing Flows › Companies › Delta Air Lines › Earnings quality

Delta Air Lines earnings quality score

How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show

Score68 / 100 · grade B · rank 400 of 1027

Delta Air Lines (DAL) scores 68 of 100 for earnings quality, grade B: rank 400 of 1027 companies and 87 of 287 in industrials. It loses the most points on accruals of -4.3% of assets, lower than 52% of companies (profit backed by cash), Montier C-score 3 of 5 checks failed, profit steadier than cash flow (smoothness 0.43). It earns full or near-full marks for discretionary accruals of +0.0% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most, Dechow F-score 0.71 (normal).

What earned and lost points

ComponentWhat the filings showPointsOf
Accrualsaccruals of -4.3% of assets, lower than 52% of companies (profit backed by cash)1427
Dechow F-scoreDechow F-score 0.71 (normal)2020
Montier C-scoreMontier C-score 3 of 5 checks failed820
Discretionary accrualsdiscretionary accruals of +0.0% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most1313
Non-GAAP gapadjusted earnings 8% below GAAP1013
Earnings smoothnessprofit steadier than cash flow (smoothness 0.43)37
DAL: share of the available points, by componentDAL: share of the available points, by componentAccruals52%Discretionary accruals99%Dechow F-score100%Montier C-score40%Non-GAAP gap74%Earnings smoothness46%

How the score is built

Eight published measures, each scored against the whole universe or on its own scale and weighted: accruals 20, discretionary accruals 10, Beneish M 15, Dechow F 15, Montier C 15, Piotroski F 10, the non-GAAP gap 10, smoothness 5. A measure that cannot be computed (Beneish for a bank, say) drops out and the rest is rescaled, so every company is scored on what applies to it.

Every company ranked → The full quality workbench, live → Delta Air Lines: cash flow →

Computed from the companies’ own XBRL filings (latest fiscal year) by published formulas; a statistical screen, not an audit or an accusation. A low score means the reported profit shows more of the markers of managed or low-quality earnings than its peers. Not investment advice.