Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) is a global airline that provides transportation services for both passengers and cargo. The company’s global route network for years has served millions of customers annually, taking them to hundreds of destinations worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic caused Delta’s passenger volume to plunge sharply in 2020. In addition to air transportation services, Delta Air Lines also operates an oil refinery business and other ancillary businesses.
The top shareholders of Delta Air Lines are Edward H. Bastian, Glen W. Hauenstein, Peter W. Carter, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc. (BLK), and Capital World Investors.
Delta is among other airlines starting to see an increase in passenger flight bookings as millions of people get vaccinated globally. The company said last month that it would stop bleeding cash due to the uptick in demand. However, the health crisis is far from over, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still advising against travel for those who have not been fully vaccinated.
Delta Air Lines’s 12-month trailing net loss and revenue are $12.4 billion and $17.1 billion, respectively. The company’s market cap is about $32.3 billion. These financial data are as of April 5, 2021.
“Insider” refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company’s stock. In this context, it has nothing to do with insider trading.
Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders
Edward H. Bastian
Edward H. Bastian owns a total of 468,067 Delta Air Lines shares, representing 0.07% of the company’s total shares outstanding. Bastian has led Delta’s global expansion since becoming chief executive officer (CEO) in May 2016. During his tenure, Delta has been recognized as Fortune’s most admired airline worldwide, 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 returned six months later to become chief financial officer (CFO).
Glen W. Hauenstein
Glen W. Hauenstein owns a total of 271,660 Delta Air Lines shares, representing 0.04% of the company’s total shares outstanding. Hauenstein has been president 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 chief revenue officer. When Hauenstein joined Delta in 2005, the airline was mainly a domestic network. He helped transform that network into one evenly split between international and domestic service.
Peter W. Carter
Peter W. Carter owns a total of 190,891 Delta Air Lines shares, representing 0.03% of the company’s total shares outstanding. Carter has been Delta’s executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary since July 2015. He is responsible for Delta’s legal, compliance, and government affairs groups worldwide and serves on the Delta Leadership Committee. He engages with various government stakeholders globally on competition policy, privacy, compliance, and other matters. Before joining Delta, Carter was a partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP, and clerked for Judge James B. Loken at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Top 3 Institutional Shareholders
Institutional investors hold between 59-64% of Delta Air Lines’ total shares outstanding.
Vanguard Group Inc.
Vanguard Group owns 65.2 million shares of Delta Air Lines, representing 10.2% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing for the period ending Dec. 31, 2020. 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 comprises less than 0.1% of VOO’s holdings.
BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock owns 35.7 million shares of Delta Air Lines, representing 5.6% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing for the period ending Dec. 31, 2020. 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 comprises less than 0.1% of IVV’s holdings.
Capital World Investors
Capital World Investors owns 28.1 million shares of Delta Air Lines, representing 4.4% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing for the period ending Dec. 31, 2020. The company 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 $518.9 billion. DAL comprises more than 0.2% of Capital World Investors’ total holdings.