Airbus Shares Hit Turbulence After Dismal Delivery Outlook

Shares of Airbus SE plunged as much as 8% in Paris trading after the aerospace and defense group guided to 870 commercial aircraft deliveries for 2026, well below the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of 896. Airbus blamed the softer outlook on the lack of reliable engine supplies for its A320 family of jets.

UBS analyst Tricia Wright said fourth-quarter results were in line, but the 2026 guidance was at the low end of expectations, and long-term production targets were downgraded.

“While the possibility of a long-term production rate target downgrade had been discussed by investors, 2026 guidance is also below the expectations of most investors we spoke to—880 deliveries, €7.5–8 billion EBIT, and €5–5.5 billion FCF,” said UBS analyst Ian Douglas-Pennant. The analyst reiterated his “buy” rating on Airbus.

The lower guidance was largely due to what CEO Guillaume Faury called a “significant” shortage of engines from Pratt & Whitney. He said this forced the planemaker into a mad dash to meet last year’s delivery target, which was ultimately lowered in the final weeks of the year.

“Pratt & Whitney’s failure to commit to the number of engines ordered by Airbus is negatively impacting this year’s guidance and the ramp-up trajectory,” Airbus wrote in a statement.

Here’s a snapshot of the 2026 full-year forecast (courtesy of Bloomberg):

• Sees commercial aircraft deliveries of about 870 planes; estimate 895.74 (Bloomberg Consensus)

• Sees adjusted EBIT of about €7.5 billion; estimate €8.19 billion

• Sees adjusted free cash flow of about €4.5 billion; estimate €5.68 billion

Goldman analyst Jeremy Elster commented on bearish technicals developing for the planemaker:

AIRBUS trading down -8%, breaking 200dma and breaching lows of recent range –

Feedback: guide came in at lower end – per comment yesterday; at €200 I would argue the shares are pricing in an €~8bn ebit guide. At closer to €190 we had more fully priced >€7.5bn. Feedback is mostly arguing to defend this as yet another Airbus “clearing event”, but it is clear that conviction is fragile in the currently rather volatile tape.

In the numbers: headline item is ’26 guide at 870 aircraft, ebit “around 7.5bn”, and cash flow “around 4.5bn”. Implied consensus downgrade is m to hsd. The company cite continued “failure to commit” from Pratt as holding up engine deliveries. The ramp-up guide is tweaked to now assume rate 70-75 by the end of 2027 (previously 75) and to stabilise at rate 75 “thereafter” (consensus has rates reaching this cadence only in ’29/30).

After the call – a few more reasons for optimism than is typical from Airbus. Key soundbites:

• “guidance does not reflect any concern on a per aircraft basis. the margins are healthy”.

• “FCF main impact is Spirit now being worse because of late deal close leading to spill over into ’26”

• Engines (the key topic) – “Pratt issues will mainly impact ’26 and to some extent ’27”. “we continue to pursue reaching rate 75 by end of next year, but due to uncertainty on engine volumes we changed the guide to 70-75″… “as we navigate the relationship with Pratt we want to preserve the possibility to have better news at a later stage”. 

Shares of Airbus in Paris tumbled as much as 8.1% following the downgraded full-year update on aircraft deliveries.

Elster noted, “Airbus looking technically fragile, despite an update that could / should have reassured…” 

Airbus deliveries in January fell to their lowest level since 2020, marking the weakest start to a year in at least a decade. By contrast, rival Boeing has continued to recover from yearslong 737 MAX crisis and recently posted its highest commercial aircraft deliveries since 2018.