The corporations on our annual list of the world's 500 largest companies combined to generate $41.7 trillion in revenue over the past year.

Fortune Global 500

Almost $20 trillion in revenue—and a record-breaking $1.87 trillion in profits. Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive list of the biggest companies in America.

Fortune 500

The top companies on our list have one thing in common: Staff largely trust leadership to see them as well-rounded people and reward them for a job well done.

GPTW_100BestCompaniesToWorkFor_2025-Delta Air Lines_US1__20241210214006_4

Employees say: "Delta provides an amazing place to develop a career, not just a job. People care for each other here and push each other to be better every day. When an employee hits a personal or family challenge, the company steps up and does right by them. My family experienced a medical issue, and the support and care that Delta provided to help us deal with the medical issue went above and beyond what was required or normal."

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

The 300 companies on this year’s list brought in over $12.6 trillion in revenue for the latest 12 months, with the median revenue figure at $22 billion.

America's Most Innovative Companies

Leaders in all industries rely more than ever on Big Tech—and appreciate the giants that deliver, at scale, without drama.

World's Most Admired Companies

Energy sector dominated this year for the first time since 2008, with 28 companies featured on the list.

100 Fastest-Growing Companies

The corporations on our annual list posted aggregate revenues of $41 trillion for the second year in a row.

Industries included in the sector are airlines, transportation equipment, logistics, mail and freight delivery, railroads, shipping, and trucking.

Fortune Sector Leaders: Transportation

The Fortune 500, in its 70th year in 2024, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

Creating a more empathetic workplace looks like staying loyal to workers, emphasizing D&I initiatives, and paying well.

100 Best Companies 2024-Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines employs over 100,000 people and services more than 4,000 daily flights to hundreds of destinations on six continents. With over 200 million annual customers, the airline company values its employees by raising pay, eliminating college-degree requirements, and instilling antiracism action plans. In April of last year, Delta increased the base pay for its operations employees by a flat 5%, and reported an average 5% increase for its salaried employees worldwide. It also offers a Shared Rewards program for its employees to earn 10% of corporate profits from their first dollar earned, through which employees earned a total of $61 million in 2022. Last February, Delta announced a profit-sharing payment of $1,250 to every eligible employee and later extended its payments through a 4% base pay raise in May, followed by another base pay increase of 5% in April. Delta also partners with Care.com to give workers last-minute care for children, adults, and pets with rates as low as $6 an hour.&nbsp;

The 200 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

The 26th edition of the list shows how much esteem Big Tech giants command among other business leaders.

WMA 2024-Delta

The 25th Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list suggests that tech giants’ peers respect them as much as ever.

WMAC 2023-Delta Air Lines

The corporations on our annual list of the world’s largest companies delivered a record $41 trillion in aggregate revenues.

The 300 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

The Fortune 500, in its 69th year in 2023, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

F500-2023-085-Delta

The Atlanta-based carrier moved 28 spots up this year’s list, thanks to a robust travel rebound in the wake of the COVID-era slowdown. Its operating revenue for the year reached $50.6 billion, up 69% from 2021. 
<ul> 
 	<li>In May 2022, Delta said it would remove 100 flights a day from its summer schedule to stave off travel chaos as it rebuilt its operations. In the month to follow, however, CEO Ed Bastian apologized for delays and the disruption of hundreds of flights owing in part to understaffing.</li> 
 	<li>Delta reached a deal with its pilots’ union in March 2023 to boost pay by 34% over three years.</li> 
 	<li>Inflation threatened Delta’s profits in early 2023, but the company anticipates a 2% to 4% nonfuel unit cost decline through the year compared with 2022.</li> 
 	<li>Still, Delta faces a pilot shortage and the delayed delivery of new aircraft, which could reduce flight volume and raise airfares.</li> 
 	<li>The airline expects flight demand to grow in 2023, which will help offset higher expenses, like the surging cost of fuel and labor.</li> 
</ul>

Just as it dominates our economy, Big Tech now dominates Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation.

WMAC-2022-18-Delta

Aggregate sales hit $37.8 trillion last year—an increase of 19%, the highest annual growth rate in the list’s history.

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 68th running of the list.

After a year in which humanity leaned more heavily than ever on tech giants, see which companies topped Fortune's ranking of corporate reputation.

WMAC 2021-23-Delta Airlines

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 67th running of the list.

F500-2021-178-Delta Air Lines

The Atlanta-based airline was heavily challenged in 2020 as air travel was all but grounded during the pandemic. Its revenue fell 64% to $17.1 billion and it lost more than $12 billion. This year, the carrier has so far reported $4 million in daily cash generation in March, an improvement from the $11 million daily cash burn on average for the quarter ended in March 2021.

For an astounding 13th straight year, Apple claims the top spot in Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation, based on a survey of almost 3,800 executives, directors, and analysts.

Our 2020 list of the 100 best companies as ranked by their employees. See which companies made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $33.3 trillion in revenues and $2.1 trillion in profits.

G500-2020-252-Delta-Air-Lines

In retrospect, 2019 was a halcyon year for the travel industry. Fuel was cheap, travel demand was high, and as the only major U.S. airline without Boeing 737 MAX planes in its fleet, Delta sidestepped the fallout from their grounding. Annual revenue rose 5.8% to $47 billion, and net income jumped 21.1% to $4.8 billion, giving Delta its tenth straight year of profitability—if likely the last it will see for some time. After the pandemic closed down most airline travel and led Delta and its competitors to seek government aid, CEO Ed Bastian predicted that Delta will need at least three years to get back to a sustainable—but still sub-2019—level of travel. As Bastian told Fortune: “This is going to take a long time.”

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 66th running of the list.

F500-2020-068-Delta-Airlines

In retrospect, 2019 was a halcyon year for the travel industry and especially for Delta, which climbed past American to claim the title of the largest airline on the Fortune 500. Fuel was cheap, travel demand was high, and as the only major U.S. airline without Boeing 737 MAX planes in its fleet, Delta sidestepped the fallout from their grounding. Annual revenue rose 5.8% to $47 billion, and net income jumped 21.1% to $4.8 billion, giving Delta its tenth straight year of profitability—if likely the last it will see for some time. After the pandemic closed down most airline travel and led Delta and its competitors to seek government aid, CEO Ed Bastian predicted that Delta will need at least three years to get back to a sustainable—but still sub-2019—level of travel. As CEO Ed Bastian told Fortune: “This is going to take a long time.”

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2019 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

Our 2019 list of the 100 best companies as ranked by their employees. See which companies made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $27.7 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

At the Best Workplaces for Women, company leaders foster mentorship and career growth.

Delta Airlines-Best Large Workplaces for Women 2019

An employee says: 
 
"Our leadership has a great vision and encourages us to be our best. Our executives treat us all as equals and strive to make our company the best place to work. I am blessed to be able to work at Delta." 
 
Read the Great Place to Work review .

100 Best Large Workplaces for Women

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 65th running of the list.

We surveyed tens of thousands of young employees to create this list of millennials’ favorite workplaces.

Delta-Best Workplaces Millennials 2019

Employees say: 
“The unique experience I have seen at Delta is the close and upfront relationship we have with our executive team. Every interaction we have with our leaders is important because it give us a sense of belonging and recognition.”

100 Best Large Workplaces for Millennials

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2018 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

Our 2018 list of the 100 best companies as ranked by their employees. See which companies made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 64th running of the list.

Best Large Workplaces for Women 2018_Delta Air Lines

Employees say: 
 
&nbsp; 
 
"Delta's support of employee participation in community service and charity events is extraordinary. Employees volunteer in projects all over the world. Through Delta I have volunteered in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Haiti." 
 
&nbsp; 
 
Read the Great Place to Work review .

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2017 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

Our 2017 list of the 100 best companies as ranked by their employees. See which companies made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list.

Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Women highlights companies with generous benefits, flexible schedules, and an emphasis on balancing work and life. 

Best Workplaces for Diversity 2016- Delta Air Lines

Employees say: "My company takes the time to listen to my suggestions. We work in a team environment and my opinion as well as the person next to me has equal weight in a discussion. When we had our power outage that caused disruptions to thousands of travelers, they took ownership and did right by our customers and their employees. When doing damage control, everyone gave it their all because we wanted to not because we were told to do it. That speaks volumes!" 
 
&nbsp; 
 
"Delta takes very good care of their employees, and the employees love and respect the company. Because of this, the employees are willing to go above and beyond what is expected by leaders in order to ensure that the last customer is taken care of as needed." Read the .

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2016 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $27.6 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 62nd running of the list.

Business insiders have spoken: Asked which companies they most admire, more than 4,100 executives, directors, and analysts chose these top 50 All-Stars.

The world's 500 largest companies generated $31.2 trillion in revenues and $1.7 trillion in profits in 2014. Together, this year's Fortune Global 500 employ 65 million people worldwide and are represented by 36 countries.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. Wal-Mart claims the top spot again. See who made the list.

Global business is back. After limping through a worldwide financial crisis and economic slowdown, the 500 largest companies ranked by revenues shattered all sorts of performance records in 2013: They racked up combined revenues of $31.1 trillion, up 2.5% from 2012, and profits soared 27% to nearly $2 trillion. China’s 95 companies (up from 89 last year) posted $5.8 trillion in revenues. The U.S. has four fewer companies on the list than last year but remains (for now) the country leader, with 128 corporations on the list—including No. 1 Wal-Mart Stores—reporting $8.6 trillion in revenues. 

Wal-Mart stayed on top as its sales crept closer to half-a-trillion dollars. Apple moved into the top five. And UnitedHealth Group continued its steady climb. 

Company Info

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Revenue ($)

Web Address

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# of millennial employees

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Women In The Organization

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Maximum $ amount covered for fertility services

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A fixture of the aviation world since it launched in the 1920s, Delta is one of the world’s largest airlines by passengers and by revenue. It has numerous U.S. hub cities, the biggest of which is Atlanta, where Delta is headquartered. The airline’s routes span most of the world, including Asia and Latin America. Delta’s iconic red triangle logo is suggestive of flight and the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. The airline also helped popularize Biscoff cookies—the name a portmanteau of biscuit and coffee—as an in-flight snack.

Q2 2025

Q1 2025

Q4 2024

Delta Air Lines (DAL): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

legacy

Delta Air Lines

delta air lines

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Delta Air Lines December Quarter and Full Year 20 24 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Matthew, and I will be your coordinator. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Julie Stewart, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Matthew. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us for our December quarter and full year 2024 earnings call. Joining us from Atlanta today are our CEO, Ed Bastian our President, Glenn Hauenstein and our CFO, Dan Genke. Ed will open the call with an overview of Delta's performance and strategy. Glenn will provide an update on the revenue environment and Dan will discuss costs and our balance sheet.

After the prepared remarks, we will take analyst questions. We ask you please limit yourself to one question and a brief follow-up, so we can get to as many of you as possible. And after the analyst Q and A, we will move to our media questions. As a reminder, today's discussion contains forward looking statements that represent our beliefs or expectations about future events. All forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward looking statements.

Some of factors that may cause such differences are described in Delta's SEC filings. We'll also discuss non GAAP financial measures, and all results exclude special items unless otherwise noted. You can find a reconciliation of our non GAAP measures on the Investor Relations page at ir.deltas.com.

Well, thank you, Julie, and good morning. We appreciate everyone joining us today. Before we start, the hearts of the entire Delta family go out to all those who are being impacted by the devastating wildfires in Southern California. We're incredibly grateful to the heroic first responders who are working at great personal risk to keep our community safe. We announced yesterday that Delta will donate $1,000,000 to the American Red Cross to aid the individuals, families and communities in the region who have been affected.

I also wanted to say a few words on the recent passing of President Carter. As a Georgia based airline, his life and legacy has had a deep impact on Delta's mission to connect the world. Among his many accomplishments, his administration led the deregulation of our industry, making air travel more accessible and affordable to all Americans. I had the privilege of knowing President Carter and traveled with him on multiple occasions. He always took the time to personally greet our staff and every single customer on each flight we were on.

He was as gracious and genuine a leader as I've ever met, a truly great man. His life of service embodied our motto to always keep climbing. And on behalf of the entire Delta family, we honor his memory and celebrate the many achievements of President Carter's life. Earlier this morning, we reported December quarter and full year results. The Delta team delivered a strong close to the year, both operationally and financially.

We reported a December quarter pre tax profit of $1,600,000,000 with earnings per share of $1.85 at the top end of our guidance on record revenue and outstanding operational performance. This marks the largest December quarter profit in Delta's history, improving more than $500,000,000 over last year. Operationally, we achieved industry leading performance with a number one system completion factor and on time performance amongst our peer set throughout the December quarter. I want to thank all 100,000 members of our team for their outstanding efforts, particularly during a busy holiday travel season. For the full year 'twenty four, our operational teams delivered 78 brand perfect days.

Last week, Delta was recognized for the 4th consecutive year with Cirium's Platinum Award for operational excellence and as the most on time airline in North America. Financially, we expect our results will lead the industry across all key measures with a double digit operating margin and $5,200,000,000 of pretax income, representing nearly 50% of the industry's profitability. Our return on invested capital of 13% is in the upper half of the S and P 500 and double the rest of the industry. This performance reflects Delta's sustained differentiation and durability. Full year earnings per share of $6.16 was above the midpoint of our initial $6 to $7 guidance from the start of the year when normalizing for the $0.45 impact of the CrowdStrike caused outage in the September quarter.

Free cash flow is expected to lead the industry at $3,400,000,000 a nearly $1,500,000,000 improvement over 2023. Robust cash generation supported further debt reduction and a 50% increase to our quarterly dividend during the year. Recognizing the strength of our financial foundation, S and P upgraded Delta last month, returning our balance sheet to investment grade level at all 3 major credit agencies. Now these results would not be possible without the incredible work of the Delta people. Our employees are the best in the business, and we are proud to recognize their commitment to industry leading performance with industry leading rewards.

In 2024, we provided our employees with a 5% pay increase, and I'm pleased to announce that we will celebrate them with $1,400,000,000 in well earned profit sharing on Valentine's Day in February. This will represent 1 of the top 3 profit sharing payouts in Delta's history and is expected to be more than the rest of the industry combined. The Delta people are our number one competitive advantage and our 2024 performance reflects their commitment to best in class operations and service for our customers. Now turning to our outlook. 20 25 is off to a great start, and we are on track to deliver the best financial year in our history with revenue growth and margin expansion driving record profitability.

Across the industry, carriers are taking action to improve their financial health creating increasingly constructive backdrop. The U. S. Consumer is financially healthy and continues to prioritize spending on experiences. Closing out 2024, we saw an acceleration in air travel demand from corporates and consumers and co brand card spending growth accelerated.

This momentum is continuing into the March quarter, where we expect to grow the top line by 7% to 9%, expand margins by 2 points and nearly double earnings over last year. For the full year, we expect earnings per share greater than $7.35 increasing more than 20% compared to 2024 as reported. When comparing to a normalized EPS, excluding the impact of CrowdStrike, this represents growth ahead of our long term target of 10% average annual growth. Cash generation is an important differentiator for Delta. And in 2025, we expect to generate over $4,000,000,000 of free cash flow, supporting further debt reduction and bringing our leverage ratio down to 2 times or less.

As we shared at Investor Day in November, Delta has a clear focused strategy that capitalizes on 15 years of investment in our brand, customer experience and financial foundation. Entering our next century of flight, Delta has never been more differentiated from the industry. As a consumer brand that serves 200,000,000 customers annually, we leverage innovation and technology to empower our people and further elevate the travel experience. Tuesday night, I had the honor of giving the keynote address at CES 2025 in Las Vegas at Sphere. In that unique space, we honored Delta's century of connecting the world, presented our vision for the next century of flight and previewed how Delta is driving innovation to deliver more seamless journeys from home to your seat, including new personalized experiences that are arriving in the coming months.

This includes the introduction of Delta Concierge, the evolution of Delta Sync and exciting new partnerships that will enable us to better anticipate customers' needs and grow the value of SkyMiles membership. Delta Concierge is a new digital tool built into the Fly Delta app, which will support members as a virtual personal assistant powered by generative AI to make travel easier and less stressful. The next phase of DeltaSync starting later this year includes a new and exclusive partnership with YouTube, the world's largest video platform to provide access to ad free YouTube premium and music streaming onboard via DeltaSync CPAC screens and our fast free Wi Fi for SkyMiles members. And we announced an exclusive new partnership with Uber where SkyMiles members will earn miles for eligible rides and deliveries in the U. S.

This unique relationship creates new opportunities to integrate further and expands our partnerships with category leaders, broadening the Delta SkyMiles ecosystem and the range of benefits we provide to our members every day. Together, these products and partnerships reflect our continued commitment to investing in

and providing our customers with a superior travel experience. They drive greater engagement with our SkyMiles members that extend well beyond air travel, improving customer satisfaction and deepening loyalty to Delta. In closing, Delta's people continue to differentiate what we deliver for our customers and our owners. With momentum entering our 1 hundredth year, we are positioned to deliver another year of industry leading performance. And now, I'll

Thank you, Ed, and good morning, everyone. I want to start by thanking our employees for their hard work and dedication in delivering a great year. December quarter revenue was a record $14,400,000,000 5.7 percent higher than 2023 and above the top end of our guidance on industry leading operational performance and strong close in demand. Post election, we recorded 4 of the top 10 revenue days in our history and saw a step up in booking activity from both leisure and corporate travelers, driving double digit growth in cash sales. Total unit revenue grew 0.0.10 over prior year with sequential improvement in all geographies.

Domestically, unit revenues picked up nicely following the election and international unit revenues improved across all three geographies and performed ahead of our expectations. Corporate sales grew 10% year over year, improving 3 points sequentially. Strength built through the quarter driven by both volume and fare, with broad based strength in geographically and across all sectors. We also saw an acceleration in co brand trends with American Express remuneration of really of nearly $2,000,000,000 during the quarter, up 14% year over year on a broad based acceleration in card spend and acquisitions. For the full year, we delivered a record revenue of 57,000,000,000 dollars 4% above 2023's prior record, with diversified streams including premium, loyalty and cargo leading and contributing 57% of total revenue.

Premium revenue performance outpaced Main Cabin throughout the year, up 8% over prior year with positive unit revenues in all 4 quarters of 24. Total loyalty revenue was up 9% over 2023, with remuneration from American Express reaching approximately $7,400,000,000 for the year driven by high single digit growth in co brand spend and over 1,000,000 new card acquisitions. We are confident in another year of high single digit growth in co brand remuneration in 2025 as we progress towards our long term goal of $10,000,000,000 Cargo revenue grew 14% over 2023 with sequential improvement throughout the year. Turning to our outlook. Delta is capitalizing on demand strength and improving industry dynamics.

We expect March quarter revenue to be up 7% to 9% higher than last year, ahead of our capacity growth as unit revenues improved several points sequentially with progression in all geographies. Domestic demand remains robust with considerable improvement in the supply backdrop over the last few months as unprofitable supply is removed across the industry. Delta is well positioned in this environment as we focus on our core strengths and optimize our core hubs. Transatlantic unit revenue is expected to lead at up mid single digits for the Q2 in a row. Demand across the Atlantic is benefiting from strong U.

S. Point of sale and an extension of the season with unprecedented off peak results. We have good visibility into the spring summer and expect another year of record profitability in our largest international entity. Latin unit revenue is expected to improve sequentially for the 3rd consecutive quarter and inflect positive as capacity investments mature, particularly in long haul South America where we have increased connectivity with our partner LATAM. The Pacific is leading in overall revenue growth.

Unit revenues are expected to be modestly negative on mid teens capacity increases. Trends are improving sequentially and margins continue to be at record levels. We congratulate our partner Korean Air on closing their acquisition of Asiana. We look forward to expanding our joint venture and increasing our options for our joint venture customers along the Pacific following the integration. This merger will facilitate even better connectivity and opportunity for further to further expand our operations to Sol over the coming years.

Turning to our network plans for the full year. As we noted in Investor Day, we expect to increase capacity 3% to 4% in 2025 with more than 85% of incremental seats in premium cabins. Domestically, 80% of our growth will be in our most profitable core hubs and internationally growth is normalizing following our multiyear restoration and investment phase. We are confident in our ability to drive margin improvement in 2025 as we focus on efficient growth across high margin premium cabins in our most profitable hubs. And we are well positioned to capture upside in the main cabin margins as industry health improves.

In closing, we had a great 2024 and I'm excited about Delta's opportunity to make our Centennial the best year in our history. And with that, I'll turn it over to Dan to talk about the financials.

Thank you, Glenn, and good morning to everyone. I'm incredibly proud of the Delta team for their hard work in 2024. We closed out the year in a position of strength. In the December quarter, we delivered a record 4th quarter revenue and profit with earnings of $1.85 per share at the top end of our guidance and more than 40% higher year over year. Operating margins of 12% were up 2 points over the prior year.

For the full year, we reported a double digit operating margin, earnings of $6.16 per share and a return on invested capital of 13%. With strong operational performance through the year and a company wide focus on efficiency, the teams delivered on our full year target of low single digit non fuel unit cost growth. During the year, we invested in our people through pay and benefit increases and in our customers with ongoing rollout of our fast free WiFi for SkyMiles members, the introduction of our 3 Delta 1 lounges and the completion of generational airport upgrades. Delta is investing at levels unmatched in the industry, while delivering better relative non fuel cost performance. Operating cash flow for the full year was $8,000,000,000 and after reinvesting $4,800,000,000 back into the business, we generated free cash flow of $3,400,000,000 Strong cash generation supported debt repayment of $4,000,000,000 including $1,000,000,000 of early repayments.

We ended 2024 with gross leverage at 2.6 times and unencumbered assets of $30,000,000,000 And in the December quarter, our balance sheet returned to investment grade at all 3 major credit rating agencies, differentiating Delta and reflecting our financial durability. Now turning to our outlook. As part of our ongoing effort to focus on the primary financial metrics that drive shareholder value, we are providing full year guidance that aligns to the 3 to 5 year financial framework, including EPS, cash flow and leverage. On a quarterly basis, we'll be providing guidance for revenue growth, operating margins and EPS with directional color on unit metrics. For the March quarter, we expect revenue growth of 7% to 9%, a operating margin of 6% to 8% and earnings of $0.70 to $1 per share.

This represents more than 2 points of margin expansion and a nearly doubling of earnings at the midpoint. Non fuel unit cost growth in the March quarter is expected to be up low single digit year over year with performance similar to the December quarter. As the year progresses, we should see improvement in non fuel cost growth as we continue to drive efficiency. For the full year, we expect earnings per share ahead of our long term average annual growth target of 10% with earnings of greater than $7.35 per share, free cash flow of greater than $4,000,000,000 and leverage of 2 times or less. This outlook incorporates margin expansion opportunities in our control, including improvements from revenue mix as we grow high margin streams like premium and loyalty, while driving efficiency across the business.

As Ed and Glenn noted, the industry backdrop continues to improve, providing potential for additional margin upside from the main cabin. We expect non fuel unit cost growth consistent to our performance in 2024 and our long term target of low up low single digits, even as capacity down 2 to 3 points from last year's growth as we are better able to leverage our existing assets and maintenance expense begins to normalize. This will help fund ongoing investments in our people and our customer experience. In 2025, half our expected capacity growth is being funded by improved utilization of both our mainline and regional fleets with incremental capacity deployed primarily into our high margin core hubs. We are growing into our workforce and expect another year where headcount growth is below capacity as our people gain experience with opportunities across our operational groups.

2025 is the final year of our generational airport developments. With their completion, we are now well positioned for the next several decades. With a premium ground experience that is unique to Delta, given the long term nature of these investments, cost per employment will improve over time as we grow into our assets. Strong cash flow remains an important differentiator for Delta. Our outlook for more than $4,000,000,000 of free cash flow is 10% of our current market cap and more than $500,000,000 improvement over 2024.

Capital allocation, we expect to reinvest $5,000,000,000 of capital into the business, including approximately 40 aircraft deliveries and continued investment in technology and facilities, including Sky Clubs and Delta 1 lounges. Beyond investing in the business, debt pay down remains our priority. We plan to pay cash for $3,000,000,000 of our 2025 debt maturities this year and will opportunistically repay higher cost debt to end the year with gross leverage of 2 times or less, progressing towards our long term target of 1 times. In closing, Delta is executing against our long term financial framework and creating significant value as we expand margins, deliver durable earnings and free cash flow and further strengthen our investment grade balance sheet. Returns remain industry leading and we expect to make progress towards our return on invested capital target of 15% this year.

We are excited about our momentum as we enter a historic year for Delta. I would like to thank our people for all they do every day. And with that, I'll turn it back to Julie for Q and A.

Thanks, Dan. Matthew, we will now open it up for analyst Q and A.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Company Participants