Reopening names are flying

Our high conviction call to invest in reopening names through Travel and Leisure stocks received a huge boost from the Delta Air Lines quarterly results and the company's CEO comments. The positive news improved the long-term outlook not only for airlines, but also for cruises and other companies in the sector. Below is the list of the top 10 holdings of the Defiance Hotel, Airline, & Cruise ETF.

On Thursday, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said that he believes that "the worst of Omicron is behind us" as the company's operations have stabilized after a challenging holiday season. He added that bookings look "really robust" starting President's Day weekend in February and moving on through the year. However, he expects a difficult time over the next 4-6 weeks amid seasonal slowness and the lingering impact of Omicron.

"People are ready to travel. They are ready to book their spring plans. They know Omicron isn't going to be a threat to them at that point," said the CEO. He also noted that flight cancellations have come "way down" in the last week as the number of staff members affected by the strain of COVID declines. Looking at corporate travel, which has lagged behind leisure travel in its post-COVID recovery, the Delta CEO predicted that Omicron caused a 60-90 day "pause" in the recovery of the business market.

Today's Delta's quarterly earning results showed a profit for the second consecutive quarter. The bottom line is that expectations were surpassed. (We summarized an article by Brian Stewart from the website Seeking Alpha).

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