Airbus shares jump on €5 billion buyback and higher profit target

Airbus shares rose more than 7% after the planemaker launched a €5 billion share buyback and lifted its 2029 profit outlook. The move, unveiled in Farnborough, England, gave investors a fresh read on how aggressively Airbus thinks it can return cash while still funding production and supply-chain resilience.

Airbus set a 2029 adjusted operating profit target of €12 billion to €13 billion, up from a prior mid-term goal of €10 billion. It also said it expects free cash flow before customer financing of €7 billion by 2029 and plans to start the buyback in the second half of 2025, completing it over three years.

The company also raised its 2025 commercial aircraft delivery target by about 4% to roughly 820 aircraft. That target is a key test of execution because deliveries are where Airbus turns a record backlog into revenue and cash, but the industry still faces bottlenecks in parts availability, labor and engine supplies. Airlines continue to replace older, less fuel-efficient fleets, which keeps demand firm even as manufacturers wrestle with long production cycles.

The market’s reaction showed that shareholders welcomed not just the return of capital, but the signal behind it: Airbus believes it has enough strength to keep expanding profit and cash generation while absorbing operational strain. In a sector where schedule reliability matters for airlines and passengers alike, and where industrial policy increasingly favors firms that can deliver at scale, that is a competitive statement as much as a financial one.

Airbus has already moved on shareholder returns before. The company reported share buyback transactions for the week of 20 to 24 January 2025, and it restarted its dividend in 2022 after sharply higher profits. The new program is much larger, and it lands at a time when Airbus is trying to show that its momentum can widen the gap with rivals in a global aerospace race still defined by production discipline, cash conversion and the ability to keep factories moving.