Airbus Shares Climb on Midterm Profitability Goal

By Mauro Orru

Airbus shares jumped after the group said it aimed to significantly boost its profitability in the coming years, betting that demand for commercial and military aircraft will remain strong and continue to fuel growth.

The European aircraft maker said that adjusted earnings before interest and taxes--its preferred measure of profitability--would grow to a range between 12 billion euros and 13 billion euros ($13.68 billion to $14.82 billion) in 2029, up from 7.13 billion euros in 2025.

Its commercial aircraft business is expected to contribute around 10 billion euros to the total, with the defense and space segment bringing in about 1.3 billion euros and the helicopters business adding roughly 1.2 billion euros.

Jefferies and Citi analysts said the targets looked conservative, citing the potential for the commercial aircraft business to grow further thanks to wide-body demand and the defense and space segment benefiting more from German defense spending.

Airbus shares in Paris gained more than 7% on Wednesday. However, the stock is up only 5% since the year began as supply-chain hurdles have weighed on investor confidence.

The commercial aircraft business handles production of Airbus's lineup of jets and their delivery to customers. The company, which dispatched 351 planes between January and the end of June, is aiming for roughly 870 commercial aircraft deliveries this year.

Despite difficulties in sourcing engines for its best-selling A320 jets, Airbus managed to increase the number of aircraft it delivered in recent months and analysts say its annual target should be attainable. Some had raised concerns the company would be forced to trim the target because of supply-chain snarls as it did in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Jefferies analysts wrote in a note to clients that Airbus's latest business update was solid, although the message on improving supply chains still needs to translate into a meaningful acceleration in production.

Airbus expects to make 13 A220 narrow-body aircraft a month in 2028, between 70 and 75 A320s a month by the end of next year, five A330s a month in 2029 and 12 of its larger A350 model in 2028.

The group said last year that it was lifting its dividend payout ratio and that share buybacks remained on the table to return extra cash to shareholders. Airbus said in its latest update that its board of directors had approved a share buyback program of 5 billion euros over three years.

J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note that the buyback is probably smaller than many investors would have liked, but it still sends a positive signal of intent and further shareholder returns at a future date shouldn't be ruled out.

Airbus said it continued to expect adjusted EBIT of around 7.5 billion euros and free cash flow before customer financing of around 4.5 billion euros this year.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2026 04:43 ET (08:43 GMT)