Airbus SE

H1 2026 revenue was EUR 33.2 billion, up 12% year on year. Adjusted EBIT was EUR 2.7 billion versus EUR 2.2 billion in H1 2025, and reported EBIT was also EUR 2.7 billion. Net income was EUR 2.2 billion, EPS was EUR 2.84, and adjusted EPS was EUR 2.61 based on 789 million shares. Free cash flow before customer financing was negative EUR 1.2 billion in H1, and free cash flow including customer financing was negative EUR 1.0 billion. Airbus ended June with net cash of EUR 8.4 billion and liquidity above EUR 30 billion. For 2026, guidance was unchanged: around 870 commercial aircraft deliveries, around EUR 7.5 billion EBIT adjusted, and around EUR 4.5 billion free cash flow before customer financing.

Guillaume Faury framed the quarter as steady execution in a complex environment, emphasizing that Airbus is on the trajectory it wanted for 2026 and remains focused on ramp-up across commercial, helicopter, and defense businesses. He highlighted record Q2 deliveries, strong order intake, and no order cancellations or deferrals, while noting that passenger traffic had softened slightly due to the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices. His tone was confident but measured, repeatedly stressing that the company is on track to midterm targets and should not over-interpret any single quarter.

Thomas Toepfer said the revenue increase came mainly from higher commercial aircraft deliveries and a stronger Defence and Space contribution, partly offset by a weaker U.S. dollar. He walked through EBIT adjustments that were broadly neutral overall, including a positive EUR 124 million from dollar working capital mismatch and balance-sheet revaluation, a negative EUR 123 million from Spirit integration, a positive EUR 60 million from the Defence and Space workforce adaptation plan, and negative EUR 43 million of other costs including M&A. He also pointed to free cash flow pressure from working capital and CapEx, with CapEx at negative EUR 1.5 billion in H1, net cash at EUR 8.4 billion, and the French surtax expected to be broadly in line with 2025 at roughly EUR 0.2 billion.

Analysts focused on Defence margins, A350 and A320 production rates, cash flow, Spirit AeroSystems, hedging, and the A400M initiative. Management said the strong Defence margin did not reflect a specific one-off, but rather a very favorable half-year mix and phasing, and cautioned against extrapolating it into H2. On Spirit, Toepfer reiterated the earlier view of a negative low triple-digit EBIT impact this year and a higher negative triple-digit cash impact, while saying integration is progressing as planned; on hedging, he said Airbus is gradually increasing the use of collars/options without a fundamental strategy change.