{"id":346509,"date":"2021-09-30T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/"},"modified":"2021-09-30T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T16:00:00","slug":"earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/","title":{"rendered":"#Earnings Watch: Third-quarter earnings were fantastic \u2014 until you peek below the surface"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3f8f6e16af4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3f8f6e16af4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#An_analysis_of_the_financial_strength_of_travel-related_companies_finds_things_are_not_nearly_as_good_as_they_seem\" >An analysis of the financial strength of travel-related companies finds things are not nearly as good as they seem<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#Deep_dive\" >Deep dive<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#Cash_is_king\" >Cash is king<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#Forgetting_fundamentals\" >Forgetting fundamentals<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#Ciara_Linnane\" >Ciara Linnane<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#and\" >and<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earnings-watch-third-quarter-earnings-were-fantastic-until-you-peek-below-the-surface\/#Tomi_Kilgore\" >Tomi Kilgore<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Earnings Watch: Third-quarter earnings were fantastic \u2014 until you peek below the surface<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_analysis_of_the_financial_strength_of_travel-related_companies_finds_things_are_not_nearly_as_good_as_they_seem\"><\/span>\n  An analysis of the financial strength of travel-related companies finds things are not nearly as good as they seem<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"article body\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000415084\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000415084\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       The third-quarter earnings season that\u2019s currently winding down has seen S&amp;P 500 companies generate overall per-share earnings growth of more than 27% and sales growth of more than 15%, numbers that suggest a robust recovery from 2020\u2019s pandemic lows.<\/p>\n<p> But the high growth rates, coming off what was for many companies a very low base, are masking underlying problems that do not bode well for the future. An analysis of the underlying strength of companies in one economically sensitive sector, that of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> and leisure, highlights the trend.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       That sector, which borrowed heavily to survive during the worst of the pandemic, was expected to enjoy a steep increase in demand for flights and hotel rooms in the summer as the vaccine program was kicking off in the spring. But that expectation was dashed by the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus that has pushed cases, hospitalizations and deaths back to levels seen in winter and discouraged people from leaving home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe largest travel and leisure public companies are still on a knife\u2019s edge,\u201d said James Gellert, CEO of RapidRatings, a company that assesses the finances of private and public companies. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor these companies, much of the pain has lasted over a year now, driven largely by empty properties, unsold tickets, continued confusion around lockdowns and quarantine policies, and an optimism that has yet to fully meet reality.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just the travel sector that is feeling the pain. Many industries are struggling with inflationary pressures, supply-chain hassles, border closures and quarantine measures, including autos and retail, both of which saw high changes in cash to current liabilities from 2019 to end-2020. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople need to monitor all industries, and companies within them, carefully to observe whether the \u201cnew\u201d liquidity gained over the past 4-5 quarters can sustain companies or just prop them up for a while longer,\u201d said Gellert.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See now:<\/strong> Hopes for a business-travel boost are dwindling for U.S. airlines as September bump fails to materialize<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deep_dive\"><\/span>Deep dive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>RapidRatings analyzes a company\u2019s financials and assigns it a financial-health rating, or FHR,\u00a0and core health score, or CHS. The former is a measure of short-term probability of default and the latter evaluates efficiencies in a business over a two- to\u00a0three-year perspective. <\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetPullQuote\n            inline\n    scope-web|mobileapps\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetPullQuote\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wsj-article-pullquote article__inset__pullquote \">\n<p class=\"pullquote-content article__inset__pullquote__quote\">\n        <span class=\"l-qt article__inset__pullquote__mark--left\">\u201c<\/span>\u2018The largest travel and leisure public companies are still on a knife\u2019s edge. For these companies, much of the pain has lasted over a year now, driven largely by empty properties, unsold tickets, continued confusion around lockdowns and quarantine policies, and an optimism that has yet to fully meet reality.\u2019<span class=\"r-qt article__inset__pullquote__mark--right\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>        <small><br \/>\n          <span class=\"inset-author article__inset__pullquote__author\">\u2014 James Gellert, CEO, RapidRatings<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       Both produce a number on a scale of 1 to 100, that is grouped in categories based on risk, as a means to help a potential business partner, vendor or counterparty determine how a company will perform over time. Only financial data is analyzed, and not share price or other market data that would include investor sentiment.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p> As the chart below illustrates, a sample of companies in the travel and leisure sector had mostly strong FHRs at the end of 2019, before the start of the outbreak. Southwest Airlines Co.<br \/>\n        LUV,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/201071949\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.46%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       led the pack with an FHR of 91, but that has fallen sharply to 48 at the end of the second quarter, placing it in RapidRatings\u2019 \u201cmedium-risk\u201d category.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Delta Air Lines Inc.\u2019s<br \/>\n        DAL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/200327741\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-1.75%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       FHR has tumbled from 87 at the end of 2019 to 25 at the end of the second quarter, putting it firmly in the \u201chigh-risk \u201ccategory. Online travel site Booking Holdings Inc.<br \/>\n        BKNG,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203576210\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.51%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       FHR has fallen to 53 from 86. Las Vegas Sands Corp.<br \/>\n        LVS,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/208792014\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.30%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       has fallen to 24 at the end of the second quarter from 86 at the end of 2019. <\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:55.00000000000001%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=540&amp;size=1.8181818181818181 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=620&amp;size=1.8181818181818181 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=639&amp;size=1.8181818181818181 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=700&amp;size=1.8181818181818181 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=700&amp;size=1.8181818181818181&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=700&amp;size=1.8181818181818181&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=700&amp;size=1.8181818181818181&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405674?width=700&amp;height=385\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\"><span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            Source: RapidRatings<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>       Core health scores have fared no better. Southwest\u2019s has fallen to 18 from 84, putting in the \u201cvery poor\u201d category, Delta\u2019s from 86 to 23, the \u201cpoor\u201d category, Booking\u2019s from 81 to 31 and Las Vegas Sands to 20 from 83, all low scores that imply high risk over the medium to long term. Only Marriott International Inc.<br \/>\n        MAR,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/200170042\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.22%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       has been spared a poor core health score, falling to 53 from 78 at the end of 2019, to remain in RadpiRatings\u2019 \u201cmedium\u201d category.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:52.85714285714286%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=540&amp;size=1.893491124260355 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=620&amp;size=1.893491124260355 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=639&amp;size=1.893491124260355 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=700&amp;size=1.893491124260355 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=700&amp;size=1.893491124260355&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=700&amp;size=1.893491124260355&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=700&amp;size=1.893491124260355&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405677?width=700&amp;height=370\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\"><span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            Source: RapidRatings<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>       \u201cWhile the holiday season might give many of these companies a revenue boost, the hangover will be even more unpleasant come next year if the raw fundamentals don\u2019t show signs of improvement beyond the next quarter,\u201d said Gellert.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cash_is_king\"><\/span>Cash is king<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>The deteriorating numbers come after companies in the public and private sectors were forced to borrow more, extend maturities and do whatever was needed to gain short-term liquidity at the height of lockdowns and restrictions on movement in 2020. <\/p>\n<p>The airline sector, hammered when travel ground to a halt last spring, begged for a government bailout to boost liquidity, that came with onerous terms. Some airlines issued bonds backed by their own loyalty programs as grounded flights caused them to burn through cash.<\/p>\n<p>The cruise sector was further hampered, when the Centers or Disease Control and Prevention mandated shutdowns for more than a year, and as companies fought with the state of Florida over their policies to require COVID-19 vaccinations for their crew and passengers.<\/p>\n<p>Carnival Corp.<br \/>\n        CCL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202325446\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.19%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       which had the lowest FHR score among the sample companies, has said that by the end of 2021, nearly 22 months after the COVID-19 breakout was declared a pandemic, it\u2019s goal was to have 65% of its global cruise capacity operating.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:34.42857142857143%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=540&amp;size=2.909090909090909 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=620&amp;size=2.909090909090909 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=639&amp;size=2.909090909090909 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=700&amp;size=2.909090909090909 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=700&amp;size=2.909090909090909&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=700&amp;size=2.909090909090909&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=700&amp;size=2.909090909090909&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-405690?width=700&amp;height=241\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\"><span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            Source: RapidRatings<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>       At Booking.com, survival meant a host of actions from raising $4.1 billion in fresh debt, negotiating amendments to its revolving credit facility, restructuring activities, participating in government aid programs including wage support programs, suspending share buybacks and non-essential travel, reducing marketing spend and selling investments, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/ix?doc=\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/0001075531\/000107553121000019\/bkng-20201231.htm#i39652d4b334f476baed8a809ea102b26_40\" class=\"icon none\">according to its 2020 annual report,<\/a> published in February. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCheap and easy access to capital provided an incredible Band-Aid to companies strong and weak,\u201d said Gellert. \u201cThe big question is whether these companies can improve from pandemic trauma with this cash or whether it will run out prior to their return to health and when they need to pay the piper for the increased borrowing and future debt maturities that they may, or may not, be able to satisfy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Forgetting_fundamentals\"><\/span>Forgetting fundamentals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>One factor that is making a difference is how much cash companies raised in 2020 that is now helping to see them through the current hardship. For example, Delta and Carnival both raised cash even as they added leverage, and that\u2019s now giving them more resilience than Las Vegas Sands. <\/p>\n<p>All three have suffered steep declines in revenue, decreasing profitability, or a swing to losses, and higher leverage. But Las Vegas Sands saw the biggest drop in FHR \u201cin part because, contrasted with the others, the increase in debt was not accompanied by the resilience created from more liquidity. The other two have bought time with their cash,\u201d said Gellert.<\/p>\n<p>For investors, the market performance of many travel-related stocks looks highly disconnected from the RapidRatings data. Many have more than doubled from their pandemic lows, even as fundamentals show the companies are struggling.<\/p>\n<p>Delta shares, for example, have rocketed about 125% off their post-pandemic closing low of $19.19 on May 15, 2020. Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg recently launched a \u201ccatalyst call buy\u201d on the stock in anticipation of increased travel demand, saying Delta was one of the \u201chighest quality names in the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>See also: <\/strong>More than a quarter of Nasdaq-100 stocks are in bear markets \u2014 Wall Street sees a buying opportunity<\/p>\n<p>But so far, investor confidence seems to be based on what they believe will h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en, rather than what the reality of the air carrier\u2019s quarterly results and balance sheet have shown.<\/p>\n<p>Delta reported a return to a net profit in the second quarter of $652 million, the first since the pre-pandemic fourth quarter of 2019, but the profit resulted from the inclusion of $1.5 billion in benefits related to government payroll support programs. Excluding that benefit, Delta actually recorded an adjusted net loss of $678 million.<\/p>\n<p>The total adjusted net loss for the first half of 2021 was $2.94 billion, not much better than the $3.14 billion loss suffered in the first half of 2020, while payments on debt and finance lease obligations during those periods have swelled more than 80% to $3.1 billion.<\/p>\n<p>And yet the stock has more than doubled, even though the ratio of debt to assets has soared to the highest levels seen since before Delta last emerged from bankruptcy in April 2007. As the chart below shows, the stock price and the debt-to-asset ratio tend to move in opposite directions.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:69.85714285714286%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=540&amp;size=1.4301675977653632 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=620&amp;size=1.4301675977653632 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=639&amp;size=1.4301675977653632 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=700&amp;size=1.4301675977653632 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=700&amp;size=1.4301675977653632&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=700&amp;size=1.4301675977653632&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=700&amp;size=1.4301675977653632&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-406632?width=700&amp;height=489\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\"><span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            FactSet, MarketWatch<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Ciara Linnane\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/topics\/journalists\/ciara-linnane\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/linnaneciara\",\"text\":\"@linnaneciara\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:clinnane@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"clinnane@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\" aria-label=\"links to  author page\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ciara_Linnane\"><\/span>Ciara Linnane<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><\/h4>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"and\"><\/span> and <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Tomi Kilgore\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/topics\/journalists\/tomi-kilgore\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TomiKilgore\",\"text\":\"@TomiKilgore\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:tkilgore@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"tkilgore@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\" aria-label=\"links to  author page\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tomi_Kilgore\"><\/span>Tomi Kilgore<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7655-6C414C8019A5%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Earnings Watch: Third-quarter earnings were fantastic \u2014 until you peek below the surface&#8221; An analysis of the financial strength of travel-related companies finds things are not nearly as good as they seem The third-quarter earnings season that\u2019s currently winding down has seen S&amp;P 500 companies generate overall per-share earnings growth of more than 27% and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":346510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}