Airbus revenue falls 2% to 17.469 billion euros in third quarter
Key Facts
Airbus reported revenue of 17.469 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, down 2% from 17.826 billion euros in the same period a year earlier, missing analyst forecasts. The company said the year-on-year decline mainly reflected a lower volume of commercial aircraft deliveries. It added that higher services revenue partly offset the impact. Adjusted EBIT, meanwhile, came to 1.768 billion euros, down 9% from 1.942 billion euros a year earlier. Reuters said the figure was close to analyst estimates, as the results showed a divergence between lower revenue and adjusted operating profit and higher net income.
Net income was 1.344 billion euros in the third quarter, compared with 1.116 billion euros a year earlier, a 20% annual increase. Reported earnings per share rose to 1.70 euros from 1.41 euros, up 21%. But the improvement in both measures did not change the direction of revenue, which fell during the period. Airbus attributed the decline in adjusted EBIT to fewer commercial deliveries and a less favorable mix, as well as the integration of Spirit AeroSystems’ operations. The divergence highlights the different paths of the financial measures in the quarter, with net income rising while revenue and adjusted operating profitability fell.
The third-quarter performance followed a stronger first half in terms of revenue and deliveries: Airbus revenue rose 12% to 33.2 billion euros in the first half of 2026. The company delivered 351 commercial aircraft during that period, compared with 306 aircraft in the first half of 2025. Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said first-half results reflected increased commercial aircraft deliveries and strong performance in the defense and space business. He added that the company was increasing production to meet growing demand. This comparison puts the third-quarter revenue decline in the context of slower commercial delivery volumes, which the company identified as a main reason for the annual decline.
On liquidity, free cash flow before customer financing was negative 1.268 billion euros in the first nine months of 2026, compared with negative 914 million euros in the same period of 2025. Airbus attributed the outflow mainly to working capital changes and inventory buildup ahead of increased deliveries. Net cash was 7.042 billion euros on September 30, compared with 12.171 billion euros at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, net commercial aircraft orders rose to 1,105 aircraft after cancellations in the nine months, compared with 514 aircraft a year earlier. The order backlog reached 9,310 commercial aircraft at the end of September, reflecting the scale of the company’s accumulated orders.
Airbus left its 2026 guidance unchanged, targeting delivery of about 870 commercial aircraft. It also targets adjusted EBIT of about 7.5 billion euros and free cash flow before customer financing of about 4.5 billion euros. The targets were maintained after the company recorded negative free cash flow over the nine months and commercial deliveries declined, contributing to lower quarterly revenue. Increasing deliveries to meet the annual target is a key execution priority for the remaining months of the year. The company scheduled its nine-month results call for October 28, 2026, at 19:30 Central European Time.
In the market, EL7 data showed EADSY closing at 53.49 dollars on October 27, 2026. The stock had closed at 53.80 dollars on October 26 and 53.60 dollars on October 23. Available data do not include the trading range for the October 27 session. These prices came ahead of the results call the company announced for the following day. The call is scheduled to begin at 19:30 Central European Time.