Moody's Ratings on Thursday restored a positive outlook to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport's bond rating, citing declining execution and cost-overrun risk in its nearly $13 billion capital program.
In August 2025, the rating agency revised its outlook on DFW's A1 senior lien revenue bond rating to stable from positive after the airport added a bigger Terminal F project to the near-term capital program.
The return of a positive outlook is "supported by strong construction progress and the substantial share of project work already under contract," Moody's said in a rating report.
"Our outlook reflects that DFW could reach substantially all major projects under contract by the end of 2027," the report said. "It also reflects the growing likelihood that final Terminal F costs will not require debt issuance significantly above prior expectations."
DFW Chief Financial Officer Brian Butler said the positive outlook "underscores the strong financial fundamentals of DFW Airport and the disciplined way we are executing one of the nation's largest airport capital programs."
The outlook change comes as the airport plans to issue $2 billion of bonds in December or January. Proceeds will mainly fund Central Terminal Area expansion and Terminal F projects, according to
DFW's bonds are rated A-plus by Fitch Ratings, AA by KBRA, and AA-minus by S&P Global Ratings — all with stable outlooks. The airport had approximately $9.4 billion of debt outstanding as of Sept. 30, according to Moody's.
