Key Morningstar Metrics for Airbus Group
- : €180Fair Value Estimate
- : ★★★Morningstar Rating
- : WideMorningstar Economic Moat Rating
- : MediumMorningstar Uncertainty Rating
What We Thought of Airbus Group’s Earnings
Airbus reported €12.7 billion in first-quarter sales, with commercial aircraft sales down 11%, helicopter sales flat, and defense sales up 7% from the year-ago quarter. Three unrelated disruptions to its assembly lines led the firm to deliver just 114 jets in the period, 22 fewer than last year.
Why it matters: Commercial planes are 70% of its sales, so Airbus’ progress in increasing commercial jet output in the face of robust demand leads its fortunes. However, that progress was constrained in early 2026 by three unrelated disruptions in its supply and assembly process.
- In 2025, management indicated that its engine supply chain showed signs of recovery and no longer cited delayed engine deliveries from CFM as a bottleneck. However, setting its 2026 goal for 870 jet deliveries, management called out Pratt & Whitney’s inability to deliver as many engines as ordered due to its own supply chain bottlenecks.
- And in December, Airbus announced that fuselage panels on some 600 jets in the A320 family would have to be inspected and potentially reworked because of a supplier issue, and in the latest quarter, administrative delays stalled deliveries of A320s to customers in China.
Key stats: Airbus delivered 114 jets in the first quarter, against our forecast of 152, with the most important lag of 25 fewer A320s and 13 fewer A321s leaving the lot by the end of the quarter. The China administrative issue was apparently cleared up in April, and the panel rework will continue until midyear.
- We still forecast a total of 875 jet deliveries for 2026, five more than the company’s aim of 870. As in the last few years, this will involve the company balancing ripples in the pace of aircraft final delivery against the more linear pace of their production throughout the year.
The bottom line: We haven’t materially altered our forecast, and our fair value estimate for wide-moat Airbus increased from €176 to €180 per share and to USD 52.80 per US depository receipt from USD 52.00.
