Everything seems to be going in the right direction for Atlanta-based legacy carrier 
Delta Air Lines, which has long been the industry’s leader in profitability, service quality, and prestige. On Friday morning, Delta’s management team announced the company’s fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, which significantly beat analysts’ expectations. In the hours following the announcement, Delta Air Lines stock shot skyward, with shares topping out at the end of the day a full 9% higher than they closed the previous day, demonstrating the strongest single-day performance in recent memory.